No business like it
by The Wilky Bar Kid
Summary: Artimus Bowman is the XO of the Cerberus when a film crew come aboard to make a movie about the Cylon War. It seems more of an inconvenience than anything until the star of the movie becomes the focus of attention for a crazed fan aboard the Battlestar.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**

**This story fits into the timeline of my "Battlestar Hermes" story but also includes elements of the "Battlestar Victorious" series. All Victorious related material is used with permission from Wes Imlay and this story can also be considered in the same timeline as that series.

* * *

**

The Cerberus was unlike any other Battlestar in the Colonial Fleet. It was one of the original twelve Columbia-class Battlestars built during the Cylon War and saw action during that bitter conflict. It survived the war and continued to serve in the Colonial Fleet for another thirty years after which it was decided to withdraw the vessel. It was taken to Sagittaron where it was to be kept on the Active Reserve list for another two years before it was to be broken up for scrap.

A change in military thinking saved it from this fate. Thirteen years before The Fall of the Colonies the first proposal was made to the lawmakers on Libran to fund a ship operated by both the military and the various civilian law enforcement agencies throughout the Twelve Worlds. The ship would act as an independent mobile police force and would be equipped with state-of-the-art forensic laboratory equipment for investigations in the field. Its primary duties would be to curtail the efforts of smuggling and pirate rings throughout the system but it would also be on hand to assist aid agencies in time of major emergencies such as the Aquarian Tsunami. To keep the military happy the ship would become part of the main Colonial Fleet in times of war.

In the interests of keeping development costs down it was decided to convert an existing design to serve this purpose. The Cerberus was chosen for this task and it immediately went into the shipyards at Scorpia for a rebuild the likes of which had never before been attempted. To help make room for the additional laboratories and medical facilities the FTL system was upgraded to allow it to make an FTL jump without the need to retract the Flight Pods. This freed up the chasm in the hull where normally these pods would retract into and allowed them to be 'filled out' therefore dramatically increasing internal volume.

The work took four years to complete and heralded a new age in the Colonial Fleet. The 'new' Cerberus had a crew of three thousand but only half of that were military personnel and were generally concentrated around operating the ship itself. The air wing consisted of the standard Raptors and initially Viper MkVIs but these soon gave way to the newer Viper MkVIIs. Whenever there was a major incident in the Colonies it was often the Cerberus that was the first to respond bringing with it the vast array of sophisticated equipment it possessed. The project was an overwhelming success.

* * *

**Three years before The Fall**

Colonel Artimus Bowman stood in the CIC of the Cerberus as he oversaw the standing down of First Watch and the arrival of Mid Watch. Having been the ship's XO for almost a year now he had begun to feel like a housewife making sure that everything was in order for when Commander Hawker arrived. It was an unfamiliar routine that Artimus Bowman nevertheless settled into quite well. He had spent much of his career on Battlestars and they were indeed a second home to him now. The order and formality of life aboard ship eased the transition he had made from CAG aboard the Valkyrie to a Raptor Instructor on Caprica before finally returning to space aboard the Cerberus.

The changeover was soon completed and the only person who remained in the traditional style CIC from the earlier watch was Bowman himself. Bowman spent much of his time in the CIC since Commander Hawker was always consumed with his own duties which, as Commander of the Cerberus, often meant he was a mix of a military leader, politician and police officer. Nearly every command given to the CIC was given by Bowman who in many ways had become a _de facto_ Commander in his own right.

The handset on the operations desk in the middle of the room suddenly beeped to life. Bowman picked it up and held it his right ear before speaking into the mouthpiece, "Combat, XO."

"Colonel Bowman," said the voice of Commander Hawker. "Would you join me in my quarters please?"

"Yes sir. On my way." Bowman heard Hawker hang up his end of the line and so he placed the handset back down onto the Operations Desk. "Lieutenant Felton, please take the con!"

"Aye sir! I have the con!" replied Felton, a young man in his mid twenties from Aerilon. With his command acknowledged Bowman left the CIC in the young man's hands.

* * *

**Commander Hawker's Quarters**

Commander Phillip Hawker sat behind his desk reading over the letter he had opened that morning for what felt like the third time. Hawker was quite a mature looking man in his late forties and whose most active days were slowly creeping behind him. He had become a master at juggling the bureaucratic machine that came with a job such as his but it had taken its toll on his physique and these days he was beginning to feel his body complaining more than it used to.

There was a distinctive knocking on his hatch. Hawker put down the letter and called out, "Come in!"

The round handle spun through almost a full turn and the door slowly squeaked open. Artimus Bowman walked in quite casually before closing the door behind him and walking upto the Commander. Although on occasion the two of them had differed in opinion on certain things they had developed a good relationship over the past eleven months that was fostering into a friendship.

"Ah, Artimus," said Hawker at the sight of his XO. "Take a seat. How's things in the asylum?" That was their little joke to describe the CIC.

"Not bad," Artimus replied as he took a seat and watched Hawker reach into a drawer for his pack of cigarettes. "The only thing worth mentioning from the morning's dispatches is a container ship out of Gemenon losing main power and having to be towed back but other than that it's all quiet out there."

Hawker lit a cigarette and breathed in the addictive fragrance before exhaling away from Bowman. "I would offer you one," he said to his XO, "but I know you don't really care for them. That's what I like about you Artimus; no vices."

Artimus grinned before replying, "I have vices sir just like the next guy. The difference is I keep mine locked away."

"I'd be interested to see what those are," said Hawker with a sly grin. "Now me on the other hand, I have more vices than I care to admit but my biggest is cigarettes. There's nothing like a good smoke to help kick start a day or relieve the stress at the end of it. I had quit for four years but then I started this job and I just had to have one again." The two of them laughed as they shared in the private joke. "Tell me Artimus, have you seen any good films lately?"

"Sir?" asked a puzzled Artimus Bowman.

"Did you see that film they made a few years ago about Operation: Raptor Talon?"

"I did," sighed Bowman. "And as usual it was full of crap. As if Colonial Officers would behave that way especially in a time of war."

"It won a whole host of awards," added Hawker. "Well anyway, they've been filming a follow-up movie recently aboard the Battlestar Athena. Unfortunately their time aboard Athena has expired due to work being carried out on the old girl so Picon Fleet Headquarters, in all its wisdom, have decided to allow them to film aboard Cerberus."

"You're not serious?" said Bowman who was looking less than impressed.

"Oh I am very serious," said Hawker smiling in such a way as to hint that he had more good news for the Colonel. "And you are going to act as our liaison. In a nutshell you're going to babysit them for me while they're aboard."

"Me?"

"Yes, it seems you come highly recommended by some senior brass," said Hawker who was positively beaming at the sight of Bowman's dismay over his latest assignment.

"Senior brass?" repeated Bowman before he was suddenly struck down by an epiphany. "Tolan!"

"Yep," said Hawker whose amused smile had now seemed to grow to stretch from ear to ear. "It's great having friends in high places isn't it? There's also going to be a few publicity stunts the brass have planned in order to promote our work so we should get some sorely needed recognition out of it."

"What do you mean 'stunts?" asked Bowman.

"Oh you know the usual thing, perhaps a Raptor ride for the stars of the film. Maybe a few photographs of you with Neveah Ratlif."

As Artimus Bowman sat there listening with dread as his CO went over some of the more finer points of his latest assignment one image was burned onto his mind; Scott Tolan laughing obnoxiously at the prospect of him having to babysit a bunch of actors and filmcrew for two weeks.

_Connections to the underworld or not I will kill him for this.

* * *

_

**Artimus Bowman's Quarters  
Three Days Later**

From the moment the announcement had been made to the ship's crew that the Cerberus was to play host to a movie crew filming what was being tipped to be the next big blockbuster rumours began to make the rounds aboard the ship. Some heard that they were going to have Cerberus crewmembers as extras. Others heard that they were going to be fitting pyrotechnics to the ship's hull to simulate explosions. Some rumours were true but most were wildly exaggerated. Both way the filmcrew hadn't even arrived yet and already they were proving to be a disruptive influence.

Bowman shut his hatch behind him and began unbuttoning the jacket of his duty uniform as he started the process of unwinding after the completion of another day. While he was always glad to leave the burden of being the XO outside his quarters for a few hours he nevertheless found this part of the day the loneliest. While he loved his work he did regret that he wasn't able to go home to his wife at the end of each day like a regular nine to five job. Earlier in his career it wasn't so much of a problem to him since he was single and free but now he was pushing passed thirty five and had married Brooke Garner over a year earlier. He was now ready to settle down and start a family but found his career to be a troublesome factor to that goal. _Maybe a few more years and I can pull a cushy deskjob on Caprica? _He didn't relish the idea of flying a desk but it would be a good life to have as his time in the service begins to wind down.

Feeling just a little blue he decided to exercise the privileges that come with being the XO of a Battlestar. He walked over to the intercom handset hanging from the wall adjacent to the hatch and pressed the button marked '1'. This immediately connected him with Petty Officer Chad Teuton who was manning the communications station in the CIC.

"Communications," replied the Petty Officer's voice.

"It's the XO, could you patch me into the civilian comm lines. You know the number by now."

"Yes sir," replied Petty Officer Teuton whose voice hinted at a smile. "Contacting your wife's number for you."

"Thank you," replied Bowman. The line clicked silent and remained so for several seconds before a dial tone could be heard. For the rest of the crew aboard Cerberus and indeed most Battlestars if they wanted to phone home then they had to use one of the ship's public call stations located near the enlisted mess hall. Being the XO meant that Bowman had the right to use his own intercom set to talk in private although if Commander Hawker or the CIC needed to get hold of him it would cut the call off.

"Hello," said the voice of Brooke Bowman from the other end of the line.

"Hey baby," sighed Artimus as he slumped up against the wall. "You ok?"

"Yea I'm good. I just got in from work. Are you ok? You sound tired?"

"I am. This ship is tearing itself apart with rumours regarding this movie crew we got coming."

"Oh that's right!" she said. "The new Neveah Ratliff movie."

"That's the one," he replied. "They aren't going to start filming until the day after tomorrow but the stars and the director are coming in the morning for some publicity stuff."

"Sounds exciting," chuckled Brooke knowing full well how much her husband hated such jobs. "Hey do you think you could get Neveah's autograph for Lacey. You know it's her birthday soon and we could put it in her card." Lacey Tolan was Artimus's honorary niece and was something he had inherited from his friendship with Scott Tolan. Artimus was extremely protective over her while Brooke was a little more laid back and willing to let her make her own mistakes. They both cared for her very much.

"I'll see what I can do," said Artimus.

"Good," said Brooke who then chuckled as a thought popped into her head. "It's funny; most men would be falling over themselves at the prospect of being Neveah Ratliff's personal chaperone. Not you though huh?"

"I'm married to you, remember?" he said matter-of-factly.

"Yea but aren't you even the least bit excited about meeting one of the most _beautiful_ women in the Twelve Colonies?" asked Brooke quoting what many magazines had labeled Neveah in recent years.

"You know what I think about people like that. They are all the same. They got their noses so far up their own sixes that you could roll them across the floor. I'm sure she is just the same."

"Well," she said feeling put in her place. "I guess I won't have to worry about her getting her hands on you while she's aboard."

"Nope," he said. "And even if she tried I'm sure Barry would be straight on the line to tell you about it."

Barry Garner was the Chief Engineer of the Cerberus. He was also Brooke's older brother. Barry was opposed to Artimus and Brooke's relationship from the very start and never gave the two of them a chance. His biggest concern was the ten year age gap between the two of them although Brooke suspected it had more to do with the fact that Barry refused to accept that his little sister had grown up and no longer needed him now she had Artimus. Barry had been the Chief Engineer of the Cerberus for over two years now and Artimus Bowman's assignment as XO caused some old hostility to resurface. Fortunately it wasn't too much of a problem since Barry seldom left the engine room.

"Has he been giving you grief again?" she asked.

"No," he replied although even if he and Barry had been having words again he wouldn't have said anything in order not to upset her. "We still stay out of each other's way. Anyway I only have to put up with him for another month and then he's off to Pegasus."

"That's good," she said. "Listen, I'm going to put some dinner on. It's been a long day. Talk later?"

"I probably should get some sleep. I have a feeling I'm going to need my strength."

"Ok," she said laughing. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. I love you."

"Love you too," and with that he placed the handset back on its perch.

* * *

**Battlestar Cerberus  
Starboard Hangar Deck  
Nine hours later**

The Hangar Deck was more alive than usual as the Raptor from the Battlestar Athena was towed off the line having just landed. Everywhere there was a jubilant atmosphere and as Artimus stood there in his Dress Uniform waiting for the Raptor to stop he couldn't help but feel like he was the only adult at a rather energetic children's party.

The Raptor came to a stop and the hatch opened. A man appeared at the door wearing a leather waistcoat over a white t-shirt and stood in the hatchway examining the Hangar Deck. Artimus knew from the file he had been handed by Hawker that this was the director, Marcus Goldstein. After looking around for a few seconds he clambered down the Raptor's wing and jumped off.

"Hello," said Artimus offering his right hand. "My name is Colonel Artimus Bowman." It took a few seconds before Goldstein noticed the Colonel and accepted his gesture but his eyes continued to examine his surroundings. "Welcome aboard the Cerberus."

"This isn't right," said Goldstein.

"Excuse me sir?" asked Bowman retracting his hand.

"No, no this isn't right," repeated Goldstein who started to walk around the Raptor to get a better look at the overall Hangar Deck. "This is different to the Athena."

"Uh, yes sir," said Bowman not sure how to respond. "The Cerberus has been heavily rebuilt from her original design specifications. I don't know if you're aware but Cerberus is not just a Battlestar, it's a-"

"Something's going to have to be done about this if this deck is to match the scenes we have already shot. This is going to take an awful lot of work on our part," continued Goldstein who began to wander off much to Bowman's aggravation.

"Excuse me sir!" he barked at the director who seemed to be snapped into line by the sudden volume of the Colonel's otherwise subdued tone. "You are on a working Hangar Deck which is officially one of the most dangerous places you could ever be. I will thank you to not wander off by yourself."

Goldstein clearly didn't like being told what to do but nevertheless he complied with the Colonel's demands and returned to his side. Bowman turned back to the Raptor to greet the next person to step out. To his surprise it was a young Lieutenant with short cut dark hair and a cleanly shaven face which looked slightly daunted. As soon as the Lieutenant saw the Colonel he snapped to attention and saluted. Bowman returned the gesture.

"Welcome aboard the Cerberus Lieutenant...?"

"Uh, Dayton sir," stuttered the young man. "Lieutenant Michael Dayton. I'm the technical advisor."

Lieutenant Dayton stepped down from the Raptor in a rather wobbly fashion. Bowman shook the young man's hand and introduced himself before whispering to him, "So who did _you_ piss off to get dumped with this assignment?" The two of them shared an amused smile before the Lieutenant stood to one side to allow the next person to step down from the Raptor. He was a short man in his early thirties who wore a teal coloured suit. Immediately behind him was another man who was adjusting a camera ready to take some pictures.

"Colonel Bowman," announced Artimus who was quickly getting fed up of welcoming the group.

"Oh uh, Aaron Doral," replied the man in the suit. "I'm with public relations. If I may say it's a pleasure to be here Colonel."

"Well thank you," said Artimus. "And welcome aboard the Cerberus Mr Doral."

"Oh please, call me Aaron. Uh would you mind if we got a few shots of you greeting the stars of the movie as they depart?"

"I'd be delighted," lied Artimus blatantly. As he waited for the leading man of the movie, Argus Johansson, to come down and shake his hand while they were photographed Artimus couldn't help but think that there was something a bit odd about Doral. He couldn't put his finger on it exactly but for some reason he had alarm bells ringing in his mind as he posed for a photograph with Johansson. Artimus put it down to the fact that occasionally there are people you just don't warm too and he suspected that Aaron Doral was going to be one of those people.

Johansson put on a polite smile but hardly said a word to Artimus as the two of them were photographed. Once the photographer was done he nodded to Doral who said, "Ok, now if you we could have a picture of you welcoming Miss Ratliff."

"Sure," said Artimus as Johansson walked away to stand next to the director. Artimus turned to look back up at the open hatch as Neveah Ratliff began to step down. Her every move was watched closely by almost everyone in the immediate vicinity. Neveah seemed oblivious to the attention she was receiving from all around her. Artimus figured that she was probably used to having everyone's attention in the same way that he was used to breathing air. As he watched her step down onto the deck he summed her up for the first time. She was indeed an attractive woman and he noticed that she possessed very piercing eyes that hinted at a bit of mystery. Given all the hype that surrounded her however he failed to see just what was so special about her.

"Welcome aboard Cerberus," he said for what felt like the one hundredth time that day.

"Thank you," she said shaking his hand before leaning up and air kissing him on either cheek. To his surprise she then clutched hold of his right arm and held it while the photographer rather excitedly snapped away. Artimus felt extremely tense and uncomfortable and the few seconds that it lasted seemed to drag terribly.

Once the photographer was finished Artimus turned to address the whole group. "Now if you'll follow me please, we have arranged quarters for you and your belongings. Once you're settled there will be a tour of the main sections of the ship. This way please."

Artimus lead the small group across the Hangar Deck and into the vast array of corridors that made up the inside of the Battlestar Cerberus. As they stepped through the hatch and off the deck Artimus thought that the deck gang couldn't have been more distracted if a nuke had just gone hot. With that in mind he feared just how much more of a disruption having Neveah Ratliff and Goldstein's people was going to cause?

* * *

**Battlestar Cerberus  
Combat Information Centre**

After leaving the group to settle into their quarters Artimus went to CIC to check in with Hawker. As he stepped into the command centre he found to his surprise that it was a hive of activity. He recognized the room when it was like this. Something was up and the Cerberus, with its unique qualities, was needed.

"What's going on sir?" asked Artimus as he walked upto Hawker who was stood by the Operations Desk looking over a star chart that displayed the three main shipping lanes leading to Leonis.

"The Leonis Traffic Control Grid has just gone down. Fire at a power station in the capitol city has plunged half the colony into darkness and back ups can only do so much. All traffic in the area has been brought to a stop and we got ships effectively stranded. We've been ordered to jump to Leonis and help coordinate things there in order to get the ships moving again while work is underway to restore power."

"My Gods!" gasped Artimus. "How many ships are we talking about?"

"Uncertain at the moment but we got our work cut out for us. BSG-58 and DG-17 are already enroute for SAR duties as are several Faststars to patrol Leonisian space and make sure that smugglers don't take advantage of the situation. Our mission is to effectively replace the entire TC Grid!"

"Right well I'll get in touch with our assets in the area and get a-" Bowman was suddenly cut off by Hawker who held up his hand to stop the Colonel from speaking any further.

"That won't be necessary," said Hawker. "Your job remains the same. Take care of our guests and make sure they stay out of our way."

"What?" asked an incredulous Artimus who could feel his emotions bubbling to the surface in a distinctly red colour. "Sir with all due respect you need me on this one."

"Artimus," started Hawker as he pulled his eyes away from the chart to look at his XO. "This is not a reflection on your abilities. Of course I want you on this but jokes aside for minute I need someone who can keep our guests in line _particularly_ now. Our orders regarding this movie remain the same so unless their filming interferes with our own operations there's no real way I can say no. That's my last word on it Colonel."

"Understood sir," said Artimus. "Well then I guess I have a tour to give."

Artimus turned away from his CO as Petty Officer Teuton walked up to Hawker with a message from the Battlestar Hermes regarding the disposition of civilian vessels in their region. As he left the CIC Artimus couldn't help but feel like he was somehow out of the loop. It left a bitter taste in the Colonel's mouth.

* * *

**Two Hours Later**

Artimus was as civil and accommodating as he could bear to be to the group of visitors. The tour lasted just over an hour and a half and covered most of the major sections of the ship including the engine room though thankfully Barry Garner was nowhere to be seen and Artimus wasn't interested in finding out where he was. The group of visitors rarely said anything during the tour probably due to the fact they had received a similar tour of the Athena and were only on this one as a way of being polite as well as scout out possible locations to film certain scenes. Goldstein did make a point however of seeking several dozen assurances from Artimus that the transport shuttles he was expecting with the props and other actors aboard would be able to meet them at Leonis.

Once the tour was completed they returned to the bunk room that was being used as their quarters. Ten bunks were arranged along the wall in a 'U' shape just as they were throughout the rest of the ship for the officers and crew. There were no VIP quarters aboard the Cerberus. Only Neveah didn't seem bothered by this arrangement likening it to camping with friends. The others however seemed less than happy but they would have to make do and Colonel Artimus Bowman didn't seem in the mood to accept any complaints from them.

"Well then," said Artimus once everyone was inside. "That concludes the tour. There is nothing further on the schedule for today so I will join you tomorrow in the pilot's briefing room to discuss the finer details about the filming schedule. You are all free to use the enlisted crewmember's gym or visit the mess hall anytime you like however I would ask you not to wander around the ship unescorted. There are many potential dangers aboard Cerberus. Paperwork following accidents is a real nightmare." Artimus's joke failed to get a responce due to his own lack of interest in amusing them. In fact the joke almost presented itself as a threat. "Well then, good night."

"Colonel!"

His attempt to escape was thwarted by the sound Neveah's voice.

"Yes Miss Ratliff?" asked Artimus.

"During the tour we visited the ship's library. I forgot a book when I was packing. An important one actually," she explained somewhat sheepishly.

"Well if you go back to the library on D-deck I'm sure they will help you out if they can," said Artimus.

"Would you mind taking me there please?" she asked in a way that almost feared what his answer would be. "Every deck looks the same to me."

"Sure," he said hiding his frustration that he was not allowed to escape just yet. "Follow me."

"Thanks," she said and the two of them stepped out and began to make their way back through the ship towards the library. Once they were out of earshot of the others she asked him, "I can see you're not too pleased about having us onboard?"

"No, it's nothing like that Miss Ratlif," said Artimus slightly taken aback by her directness. Neveah smirked momentarily knowing that he was lying which thus made the atmosphere a little uncomfortable between the two of them as they continued their way through the ship. For Artimus it was unbearable and he searched for a topic of conversation until he found the most obvious one.

"So what is the film about?" he asked. "I hear it's a follow-up to Raptor Talon?"

"That's what everyone thinks," said Neveah smiling which implied that she had heard that many times before. "That's actually a rumour that was started by one of the tabloids and we just haven't been able to shake it. It's actually an all new story based on the Battlestar Achilles."

"Achilles!" said Artimus in surprise.

"Yes," she replied. "Do you know the story of what happened?"

"I sure do," explained Artimus. "She was boarded by the Cylons during the war and in order to prevent her from being completely taken over the Commander ordered a blind jump away. Nobody knows what happened after that. It was never seen again."

"Yep," she confirmed. "That's the one."

"So the film is about the last day of the Achilles?" asked Bowman speculatively.

"The first half is," she answered somewhat cryptically. "The movie goes on to speculate as to what happened after the Achilles jumped away."

"Oh? Care to fill me in?"

"It's an industry secret but I will tell you out of courtesy to you for having us onboard if you promise not to tell anyone else?" she said playfully. Artimus wasn't sure if he cared or not but he nevertheless decided to play along and so he agreed. "After the Achilles jumps away the battle aboard the ship rages on. The Cylons capture most of the ship and only a handful of crewmembers are holding out on the lower decks." She stopped for a moment as they passed two crewmembers walking towards them. Once they were gone she continued, "Later, one of the Cylons begins to act strangely during a battle. My character and_ it _get trapped on a causeway and she expects it to kill her but it doesn't." She stopped at that point as if afraid to continue. The fact she had stopped caught his attention and he encouraged her to continue. "Now this is going to sound a little _out there_ but hear me out. The Cylon has fallen in love with her."

He knew it was rude but he couldn't help but start to laugh as they made their way down to D-deck.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry it's just...a Cylon can't fall in love. I think it's a bit silly."

"We knew there would be people like you when we wrote the first draft," she explained before she added, "This is my first time writing a screenplay. I'm credited as a producer"

Artimus began to feel a little worse about laughing at the concept even though he still felt it was quite a ludicrous idea.

"Again I'm sorry," he said. "It's just Cylons are machines. Advanced machines, yes, but machines nonetheless. They don't experience emotions like love or even hate. They just are what they are."

"I take it you haven't heard of the theory of Animorphosis?"

"Can't say I have," he said politely.

"It's a concept that has its roots in Gemonese mythology. Basically it refers to imitation objects that are so realistic that they have a soul."

"So you're saying that the Cylons," he started before pausing while he made sure he understood her correctly. "Have a soul?"

"We built them to look humanoid, you can't make them anymore imitation than that. Except of course for going fully human."

"Now there's a frightening idea," interjected Artimus.

They could have left the conversation there but Neveah felt compelled to continue it and justify her case. "This book I'm getting is called The Enemy. Have you heard of it?" Artimus shook his head. "It's a psychological evaluation of Cylon behavior before and after they rose up against us. You should read it yourself sometime. It notes some fascinating observations of Cylons behaving in a strange manner. It's the main inspiration for the movie. After you read it you might not be so dismissive of the plot."

"Maybe I'll do just that," he said to her as they finally arrived at the library. "Here you go. I'll stay here and take you back when you've found what you're looking for."

"Thank you," she said and with that she entered the library while Artimus waited outside. She wasn't in for very long before she returned. As luck would have it the Cerberus's library did indeed have a copy of The Enemy and Neveah held onto it tightly as they made their way back through the ship to the quarters she was sharing with the rest of her group. They continued their discussion on the Cylon psyche for the duration of the journey and while Artimus was mildly interested it didn't go any further than that and Neveah knew it. When they finally reached her quarters she turned to Artimus and said, "Tell you what Colonel, why don't you borrow this book tonight? Have a look through it and see if it changes your mind. Go ahead! I've read it plenty of times I just wanted to have it for reference."

"Ok," he said as he took the book. "I will. Good night Miss Ratliff."

"Good night Colonel," she replied and with that the two of them parted company.

In a confined part of the ship lay a small picture of Neveah Ratliff that had been crudely cut out of a magazine and placed on the wall being held on by dab of paper glue. In the picture she had her trademark smile that had made her famous and with her eyes staring straight at the camera when the photo was taken it gave the appearance that she was looking directly at whoever looked at the image.

Fingers began to caress the image with a delicate touch. The index finger ran across the top of Neveah's forehead as if to brush away strands of hair from her eyes. The index finger then ran down the left side of her face and caressed her cheek in a tender yet unsettling way. The man's breathing became heavy almost as if he had to somehow force himself to take every breath. His index finger was now running across her lips and the very sight of this act seemed to charge his body with erotic electricity.

He leaned forward and began to place his lips on the picture. He couldn't press them hard enough against it in order to satisfy his need to be near her even if it was only an image. His _faux-kiss_ quickly deteriorated into an obsessive attack on the picture. He wasn't getting the release he desired from it and this frustrated him even further. Soon he realized that he had ripped the paper into two pieces as a result of his urges that he had become a slave to. Throwing his face into his hands he quietly sobbed as he realized that he was slowly losing control of himself.

* * *

**Artimus Bowman's Quarters**

Artimus Bowman had deposited the book down onto the table in his quarters knowing full well he had no intention of reading it. He removed his duty jacket and lay on his bed in just his trousers and grey tank top staring up at the ceiling before closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep. It wasn't working and he knew exactly why. He looked over at the book as it sat there silently daring him to walk over and read it. Several times he tried to dismiss the book but each time his thoughts wandered back to it and so after about half an hour he gave in and started to read it on his bed if only to get him off to sleep.

_Day 3432 of the Cylon War_

_Tauron_

_A most peculiar observation of independent Cylon behavior was made by a Marine Reconnaissance team on this day during fighting on Tauron's northern plains. The Marines were scouting for weakness in the Cylon lines in anticipation of a massed attack when they themselves came under attack. An air strike by Vipers from the Battlestar Columbia saved the small unit from almost certain annihilation. During their subsequent withdrawal the Marines observed a Centurion apparently effecting repairs to a fallen comrade. This is by no means an unusual aspect of Cylon behavior since this feature was included in the original programming by Daniel Graystone. The Marines were about to destroy the Centurion with a sniper rifle shot when they noticed that the Centurion wasn't actually repairing its fallen comrade but was actually in fact ripping it apart and damaging the fallen Centurion as much as it could. The Marines observed this act of 'Cybernetic mutilation' for several minutes before finally destroying the Centurion. Inspection of the Centurion showed that until it was destroyed by the bullet from the Sniper rifle it was undamaged and therefore, theoretically, fully operational. This does of course leave open the possibility of a computer virus but it should be noted that attempts to use computer viruses against the Cylons by Colonial Forces were almost always defeated by Cylon firewalls and this makes that particular theory unlikely._

Artimus looked up from the page after finishing reading this particular entry.

"So," he uttered to himself. "Cylons committed atrocities even on themselves. If you call it an atrocity. I guess they really are more human than I gave them credit for."


	2. Chapter 2

**Battlestar Cerberus  
Combat Information Centre**

Artimus Bowman walked into the CIC immediately upon leaving his quarters that morning. His overall energy levels were quite low due to a poor night's sleep coupled with the fact that he had yet to have breakfast. The CIC was a much calmer place than it was during his previous visit to it. The highly professional crew had settled admirably into their duties now that they were in orbit of Leonis and getting on with the task they had been assigned.

Lieutenant Felton was the officer of the watch and he was busy updating the chart that lay across the Operations Desk. He stood to attention at the sight of the XO but Bowman quickly acknowledged the respectful gesture and signaled for him to continue. He did not want to hinder the young officer's work. He merely wanted a situation report for his own benefit.

"What's the story Lieutenant?" he asked.

"Well sir our first task was to establish an overall DRADIS picture of what was going on," explained Felton. "We are orbiting over the easternmost continent with a direct line-of-sight to the Battlestar Atlantia which arrived this morning and is over the northern pole. They have a line-of-sight to the Battlestar Hermes over the western ocean and finally, over the southern pole are the Battlestar Vanguard."

"So the net is cast," said Bowman summing up the disposition of the four Battlestars around Leonis. It was necessary for the Battlestars to be able to detect one another on DRADIS in order to plug any gaps that might appear in their DRADIS coverage. Each Battlestar would send its DRADIS information to Cerberus which was responsible for coordinating the overall mission.

"Yes sir," said Felton. "We've split the civilians up into two groups; incoming and outgoing. Outgoing ships haven't really been much of a problem since they are fully supplied and were ready to depart anyway, they just needed to be organized into their respective shipping lanes so they didn't crash into one another. It's the incoming that are the problem. The closer to Leonis you get the denser the fleets of civilian ships become. They're all trying to squeeze into one very tight piece of sky. We've turned back some of the less vital ships that are on their way but we're still trying to ease the back log."

"What about repairs to the Leonis TC grid?" asked Artimus.

Felton sighed, "Best estimates have it somewhere in the region of eighteen to twenty hours before full power is restored. But I do have some good news for you sir. The transport shuttles with our guest's equipment arrived this morning."

Bowman seemed to grunt in amusement, "I don't suppose there was someway we could have used this emergency to keep them away?"

"Afraid not sir," explained Felton. "Shuttles don't need to use shipping lanes and they were staying out Leonis airspace so it wasn't a problem. But you should see what they've brought with them. It's pretty impressive."

"What's that exactly Lieutenant?"

"Maybe it would be more of a surprise if you went down onto the Hangar Deck and had a look for yourself sir," said Felton with a sly grin.

"Very well Lieutenant," said a now curious Artimus who turned to leave. "Carry on."

"Yes sir!"

* * *

**Battlestar Cerberus  
Starboard Hangar Deck**

It was immediately obvious to Artimus what Felton was referring to the moment he walked across the second level walkway that looked over the at Hangar Deck below. Sitting in the far corner out of the way of the normal day to day routines of a working Hangar Deck was the unmistakable shape of a Cylon Raider from the Cylon War.

Artimus leaned on the handrail and stared down at it. He had seen one in the Delphi Museum of Science many times and this one was identical in every way.

"Impressive isn't it sir?" asked a voice. Artimus turned to the right in the direction from which the voice came and saw Lieutenant Dayton who was the technical advisor for the movie.

"Good morning Lieutenant," said Artimus. "Sleep well?"

"Not really sir," said Dayton.

"That makes two of us," added Artimus as he turned back to look at the Raider. "So what is it? A prop for background scenes?"

"No sir it's much more than that. It will actually fly."

"Really?" asked Artimus aghast.

"Yes sir," continued Dayton. "It's built around an old Type 76 Pilot Craft. The exterior is simply aesthetic but it's built totally to scale of the real thing. The biggest tell-tale difference however is that instead of having two full size engines it has four DDG-62 engines but they will edit the footage in post production to make it look right."

"Interesting," said Artimus genuinely.

"If you'd like sir I could show around it?"

That was an offer that was too good for Artimus to refuse. "Lead the way Lieutenant!"

The two of them walked down the stairwell onto the main Hangar Deck level and made their way over to the dummy Raider. The closer Artimus got to it the better he could gauge its size compared to a Viper. It was at least twice the size of even the latest Viper MkVII and its wing span meant that it was longer and wider than a Raptor. This size was misleading however since the Cylon Raiders were more than able to match their counterpart Viper MkI and IIs.

Artimus followed the Lieutenant around the Raider as he pointed out certain areas of the Raider that might interest the Colonel. The Raider was indeed accurate down to the minutest detail. Even the four DDG-62 engines were concealed in pairs inside two large nacelles underneath the fuselage.

Walking around to the rear of the craft revealed a long yellow painted ladder that allowed access to the entry hatch on top of the cockpit. Dayton went up first followed by Artimus. As he clambered across the top of the Raider Dayton opened the hatch to show Artimus the cockpit. This was where the deception ended. The cockpit belonged t the original Type 76 Pilot Craft that the vessel was built around. Looking in, it was clear to Artimus that the exterior had been scabbed onto the basic hull since the interior cockpit didn't resemble the exterior even remotely.

Even though it was an unexciting aspect of the dummy Raider Artimus still decided to climb down and take a closer look at the inside. Holding his weight on the edge of the hatch he lowered himself down inside and slid into the pilot's seat. Dayton followed him in and sat in the co-pilot seat. Unlike the original Raider which had a three Cylon crew this ship only had two crew but it was all that was needed to maintain the deception.

"As you can see sir," explained Dayton. "This is all pretty standard controls. They only intend this to fly for short amounts of time. Then they just superimpose others alongside it or exploding. Once you get used to the tricks of the trade you find you can't watch movies the same way again. You're always looking to see how they did that and if you can see any mistakes made by the production team."

Artimus smiled, "So how did you end up doing these kinds of assignments Lieutenant? Or is this just a one off?"

"I specialized in military history at Abry with a promise to return and lecture in the subject but before I could do that I had to serve a minimum of five years active duty. I spent two years on the Battlestar Triton before I transferred to Picon Fleet Headquarters. That's when they started me on duties like this."

"So your not really a Battlestar kind of guy is that it Lieutenant?" asked Artimus.

"Not really sir," said Dayton cringing slightly. "I hate the formality and the routine of it all."

"Well in that case I have to ask; why did you join the fleet?"

"It was an exciting prospect and I've always had an interest in history. I guess it's like that one toy you beg your parents for and when you get it it's nothing like the commercial."

Artimus smiled in amusement although at the same time he did have some sympathy for the young man sitting beside him. It was quite a common thing to happen with 'Rooks' in that they can't settle into life in the fleet. It was at that moment that the silence between the two of them was disturbed by a rather grotesque sound emanating from the Colonel's stomach reminding him that he had yet to have breakfast. Dayton politely ignored the sound but Artimus couldn't. He thanked the Lieutenant for showing him around before making his way back out through the hatch in the roof.

* * *

**An Hour Later**

Having finished his breakfast it was time that Artimus returned to his 'babysitting' of the movie makers. Eating his breakfast he had come to realize that perhaps he had been a little rude to them the day before and he promised to try to be more social today. He arrived at their quarters to find the hatch closed. He knocked politely but failed to get a response so he knocked again with more force.

The hatch swung open and Goldstein angrily appeared, "Look how many times do I have to keep telling you people no autographs an-. Oh, Colonel! Good! I need to have a little word with you. We're trying to rehearse a few scenes in here between Neveah and Argus and we are constantly being interrupted by members of your crew trying to get an autograph. Could we have a little more _professionalism_ from your people please?"

Artimus winced angrily at the director's words but if what he was saying was true then he had no choice but to swallow his pride and reply, "We have already issued orders to the military personnel aboard this ship which outlines that you are not to be disturbed."

Aaron Doral suddenly appeared behind Goldstein. "It's ok Marcus. I'll take it from here."

The hatch opened a little further as Marcus Goldstein disappeared back inside leaving Artimus with Doral standing at the entrance. Artimus could see Neveah and Argus standing in the background going over some lines together while Marcus watched. It was at that moment that he realized that he had forgotten the book that Neveah had loaned him the night before.

"With respect Colonel," continued Doral. "I don't believe that these were military personnel. They looked more like they were part of the civilian crew."

"If that's the case then I will have a word with Dr Langstrome at the earliest opportunity. She is in charge of the Criminal Sciences division and is the highest ranking member of the Law Enforcement team aboard Cerberus."

"Excellent," said Doral apologetically. "I just want to emphasize that we don't want to make a big deal out of this. It's just something of nuisance. We are of course very grateful to you and your staff for having us aboard your interesting ship."

"Interesting?" asked Artimus looking for him to be more specific. 'Interesting' could mean many things and was often a euphemism for ships like Cerberus that translated into 'old'.

"Well there's no other ship like Cerberus in the fleet, is there?" explained Doral.

"There are none like Cerberus," added Bowman with pride. "She looks like one of the Columbias, but she's been rebuilt to such a degree that she's in a class of her own. Cerberus is a mix of military and civilian, a unique experiment when you think about it."

"We're all impressed at the work you do and how different Cerberus looks when compared to the Galactica and Athena," Doral paused as though he was thinking of something, "Athena even looks different on the inside than Galactica."

Artimus thought about some of the changes he had noticed on Athena when he had followed Scott Tolan for an inspection of the Battlestar shortly before his posting to Cerberus, "Athena has been modernized more than Galactica, it seems the Fleet put more modern technology in her whenever it had become available. I don't think any Battlestars looks _exactly_ the same on the inside."

"I see," said Doral who was going to say something else when someone tapped him on his shoulder. Artimus saw that it was Neveah and watched as she whispered something into Doral's ear. The PR rep nodded and left the hatch; Neveah then walked out and closed the hatch behind her.

"Colonel Bowman," she said before asking, "or would it be alright if I called you 'Artimus'?"

Artimus thought about it and decided to try to play nice, "You can call me Artimus, Miss Ratliff."

"In that case you can call me Neveah or just 'Nev' as my friends call me."

"Alright then, Nev," he said rather awkwardly. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"I was wondering if you would have dinner with me tonight?"

Artimus was momentarily stunned, "Uh, excuse me?"

"It's nothing like that," she chuckled. "I thought that we could sit down and discuss what you thought about the book. I fear my fellow cast members don't share the interest I have in the topic."

Artimus thought for a moment. Although he had been reluctant to start reading it, several articles inside it had caught his attention. "In that case," he started. "I would be happy to have dinner with you tonight so we can further our earlier conversation."

"Excellent," she said smiling. "Umm…Where exactly? I doubt there are any restaurants onboard."

Artimus thought about what would be the 'safest' answer he could give. "I suppose I could have a word with the CO about using the wardroom."

"What?" asked Neveah slightly surprised. "Doesn't the XO of a Battlestar have his own quarters? The XO of the Athena did."

Artimus smirked devilishly as asked jokingly, "Just how many XO's quarters have you been in?"

"None," she laughed. "You'd be the first."

"Very well," said Artimus thinking it would be ok since she had been the one to suggest it. "Twenty hundred hours? Uh…eight o'clock?"

"I'll be there," she said and she turned to leave him standing outside the hatch wondering what had just happened. Since they seemed ok where they were for the time being Artimus decided he would use this time to get some overdue paperwork done. As he navigated the corridor he thought how Brooke would react if she knew he would be having dinner with as she put it 'one of the most beautiful women in the Colonies.'

He walked into his quarters and closed the hatch behind him before removing his duty jacket and setting it on a nearby chair. He sat at his desk and looked at the various pictures arranged on it. There was a photo of him and Brooke with Lacey that was taken during a trip to Virgon the previous year. Next to that was a picture of him and Brooke having their first dance at their wedding reception. There was also a photo of him and Scott Tolan taken during a trip to Caprica Beach shortly before he came aboard the Cerberus. Almost instinctively Artimus shot a pair of eye daggers at the photo of Scott. He wondered why the man had selected him for this particular assignment, perhaps it was payback for the Valkyrie mission three years ago.

The thought of that mission brought a single name to the forefront of his mind…Galit Malka. She was dead now, killed during the course of that fateful mission three years ago when he first met the beautiful Ministry of Intelligence officer. He and Galit had become close during the mission. Closer than Artimus let most people get to him. He took her death particularly hard.

He and Scott had a difficult start to their friendship. There was definitely a clash of personalities from the start but gradually this gave way and the two of them had become fierce friends ever since.

Artimus decided on a course of action and so he picked up the intercom handset off the wall before dragging the cable back over to his desk. When Petty Officer Teuton answered Artimus had him direct his call to the Colonial Fleet Bureau of Ships located in Queenstown on Picon. The Bureau's responsibilities included supervising the design, construction, conversion, procurement, maintenance, and repair of ships and other craft for the Colonial Fleet. The man in charge of this was none other than Rear Admiral Scott Tolan.

A couple of rings and Artimus heard a familiar voice announce, "Tolan!"

"I suppose you're finding all this hilarious?" he said quite dryly.

"Artimus!" said Tolan jubilantly. "I'm guessing by now you've met your charges."

"Yeah, and I'm not sure what I did to deserve this. They've been onboard a day and already I've got a crew falling over itself at the sight of Nev."

"Nev?" said Tolan bemused. "You and Nev are on a first name basis already? You don't waste time do you?"

"That's not very funny," he said knowing that Tolan was just trying to push his buttons.

"Artimus, one day you will look back on this and laugh. I just happen to be laughing already."

"Really?" said Artimus who wasn't so sure. "What made you think I could do this? Wasn't it you who once said I had all the PR skills of a machete?"

"How many times have I ever asked you to do something that you said you absolutely could not do? Huh?"

"Do we really need to go back to the Valkyrie?"

"Not particularly, but listen Artimus I chose you because I knew you would be able to handle the conflicting egos on that film crew. It's not too different from being a CAG; everyone thinking they're the most important people in the worlds. I knew you could handle it because you're detached from all that crap. Just focus on the goal; otherwise just ride the current. Listen, I'd love to stay and chat but I'm up to my _brass_ in paperwork here. I'll talk to you later. Just don't space any of them and you'll be fine."

"No promises," joked Artimus before hanging up and getting back to his own paperwork.

**

* * *

Battlestar Cerberus  
Starboard Hangar Deck**

For much of the ship life went on as normal. The operation above Leonis demanded the best efforts of the CIC crew who were busy organizing the civilian vessels to make sure they didn't collide into one another when landing and taking off from the colony below. If it weren't for the daily updates coming over the ship's loudspeakers from Hawker or Felton then most of the knuckledraggers wouldn't have noticed the difference.

Standing beside Viper Five-Five-Seven with his hands inside the number three access panel in the nose of the fighter was a young man named Specialist Aldo Giannis who had earned the nickname 'Titch' from his colleagues. He was a quiet young man who hailed from a Gemonese family who were living on Aquaria. He was a devout believer in the Gods and the teachings of the Holy Scriptures but his quiet personality didn't make him as 'preachy' as some who originated from Gemenon. Because of this fact he was seen as being quite harmless by many aboard the Cerberus who often overlooked him. He would report for duty on time everyday without fail. He would start his work and continue until it was finished without ever lifting his head up to take a look around. He would rarely speak unless spoken to first and would often eat alone in the mess hall. It was not that he was rude or unfriendly. He was simply quite shy and found it difficult to relax in social settings.

By stark contrast to Giannis was Specialist Frank Simtar. Simtar was loud, obnoxious and quite overwhelming to someone like Giannis which was made all the worse by Simtar's decision to make Giannis his project. He was determined to get the shy Giannis out of his shell and preferably into the bed of a woman before his first tour was completed. While this was sometimes an annoyance to Giannis he nevertheless liked to have the attention. The truth was that Simtar was the closest thing the young Specialist had to a friend aboard Cerberus.

The day wore on and the mid watch shift on the Hangar Deck came to an end. As the last shift of the day walked onto the deck to replace them Giannis, Simtar and their colleagues began to head to the adjacent locker room. The locker belonging to Giannis was easily distinguishable from the others. It was the only one that wasn't in someway defaced or covered in pornographic images that had been stuck on using adhesive tape or glue. His locker looked brand new and this was the cause of much of Simtar's efforts towards the shy young man.

"'Titch' my young friend!" bellowed Simtar walking towards him as he began to peel away his orange coveralls. Giannis smiled embarrassingly as he waited for whatever it was that Simtar was going to bombard him with today. Simtar walked up to him with a magazine in his hands and held it out to show Giannis. Giannis expected to see the usual pornographic content within its pages but to his surprise he saw the beautiful sight of Neveah Ratliff in a long blue dress at the premier of her last movie. "Now _that's_ beautiful! Don't you think?"

"I-I guess so," said Giannis quite embarrassingly.

"I thought you had a thing for her," said Simtar. "I saw the way you were looking at her when she stepped off that Raptor yesterday. You dark horse. Tell you what, why don't we put this in your locker to brighten it up a bit?"

Despite his protests Giannis watched as Simtar tore out the page and borrowed some adhesive tape from a nearby colleague's locker.

"No, no I don't think so," said Giannis persistently but Simtar was more committed than ever now that a crowd was forming around them to see what was going on.

"Now I know what you're worried about," said Simtar. "You're worried about what your parents would think but do you know what I think? I think they would be pleased that you're putting up a picture of a decent and respectful young woman, ideal for their only son. I think they would be happy that you're going for the right kind of girl and not just any old tart."

Before he knew it the picture was emblazoned on the inside of his locker door. Giannis began to take it down but the crowd chanted and booed and so crumbling under the peer pressure he decided to keep it up. The gathered crowd cheered and whistled as if he had just scored the winning goal in the Pyramid Championship. Giannis returned to getting off his work coveralls and before long the crowd of knuckledraggers began to disperse having grown bored with what was going on and desperate to get into a shower after another day on the Hangar Deck.

Once he was sure that no one was looking, Giannis reached up and began to remove it. He suddenly stopped. His eyes fell on her face. She was so beautiful and no one could ever deny that but he could see something else there. He looked into her eyes and even though the image was literally taken worlds away there seemed a sadness to them. He strangely began to feel guilty about taking it down. He felt as though he were somehow helping her by keeping it up and so he left it there inside his locker.

* * *

**Artimus Bowman's Quarters**

Artimus had cleared the table in the corner of his quarters of everything that was perched on it. Although the evening was completely innocent he still felt guilty about removing the picture of his wife and so he placed it up on a shelf at the bottom of his bunk. With that done he placed the two chairs he had in his quarters on either side of the table so that they would be facing one another. He then thought that this would imply that they were on some kind of date so he placed them side by side but that would have been uncomfortable. After playing with the arrangement for several minutes he then decided he was being silly and returned them to the side so they were facing one another.

There was a knocking on the hatch and he quickly opened it. It was a crewman from the galley who had brought the food he had ordered for them. They would be having the notorious 'fleet noodles' but garnished in a sweet sauces to hide their otherwise bland flavoring. The crewman walked over with the tray of food and the necessary utensils before placing it down on the table. Each plate was covered over with a lid to keep the food warm. The crewman placed the two plates in front of the chairs with the cutlery beside them. Next was two glasses and a plastic bottle of sparkling mineral water – Artimus never drank alcohol while aboard ship.

"Thank you crewman," said Artimus expecting him to leave.

"Sir, Chef has ordered me to ask you if you would like a bottle of wine delivered from the galley?" It was clear to Artimus that the junior crewman was an unwilling participant in a joke that was at his expense but it was at that point that he realized that people knew he was having dinner with Neveah Ratliff in his quarters. He hadn't told anyone that day not even Hawker. Was it a guess or did they think it was someone else?

"And why would I want wine?" asked Artimus fishing for an answer.

The Crewman seemed to struggle to find the words. It was as if Artimus was about to cut his head off if he gave the wrong one. The Crewman swallowed before answering nervously, "Well sir, I think the Chef thought that you and Miss Ratliff might enjoy having some wine with your dinner?"

It was at that moment that Neveah appeared in the open hatch. She wore an elegant green dress that hugged her features enticingly. Her hair sat comfortably down the back of her head with only a gold hairclip to keep it in place. Artimus immediately felt underdressed in his duty uniform.

"Um, I'm not too early am I?" she asked smiling.

"No of course not," said Artimus who then turned to the Crewman. "Thank you crewman, you can tell the Chef I will see him later." The crewman just stood there in open mouthed shock at having the worlds famous Neveah Ratliff standing before him. Artimus held out his left hand in front of the crewman's face and clicked his fingers louder than either he or Neveah had ever heard before. The Crewman was snapped out of his gaze and quickly began to walk away.

"Excuse me," the crewman said breathlessly to Neveah as he squeezed passed her in such a way as to imply that touching her would probably burn his flesh away. Neveah stepped aside smiling politely as the nervous crewman tried desperately to get away.

"Please," said Artimus signaling for her to enter.

"Thank you," she said as she stepped inside and closed the hatch behind her, something Artimus felt he should have done. As it slammed shut it seemed to echo in his mind.

"Suddenly I feel a little underdressed. I wasn't expecting you to, um…Uh."

"If that's your way of saying I look good then thank you," she said rescuing him from his tongue that appeared to be twisting in his mouth. He still wasn't sure what he was expecting from this evening or how his wife would react if she ever found out. He walked upto the chair closest to her and pulled it out in order for her to sit down. She thanked him as he went to sit opposite her. After she had sat down she looked around at his quarters. "This is nice. Is that your wife?" she asked pointing at the photograph at the bottom of his bunk.

"Yes," he replied as he made himself comfortable opposite her. "She's an elementary school teacher on Caprica."

"She's very beautiful," she said as she took another look. Artimus had seen that look before whenever he introduced his wife. Artimus looked his age of thirty five but his wife was ten years younger than him and the age gap was emphasized by the fact that she looked younger than she was. Neveah didn't say anything however. Instead she looked back towards her host and smiled. "She's about your age," he explained as though he felt he had to explain it somehow. "It's caused a few problems with her family. She was twenty when we met."

"Well that's not very young these days," she said.

"Not in her case anyway," explained Bowman. "She was always more mature than me."

"Are you very immature then?" asked Neveah who was smiling as if she was picturing him throwing eggs at windows or something as juvenile as that.

"Ok maybe mature isn't the right word. Rational! She reminds me that I don't always have to take everything so seriously. My friends think that when I married her she thawed me out. I used to be quite a hard ass. Usually on myself."

"It's good to have someone like that isn't," she said to which Artimus agreed. "Well, shall we get started?"

The two of them lifted the lids off their plates and began to eat. They talked for a little while about themselves. Neveah talked mostly about her career and her ex-boyfriend Leon Delroy who played Pyramid for the Picon Panthers. Her life was a universe apart from his. It was glamorous and often exciting but as he listened to her he couldn't help but feel she had a few regrets and while he was interested he felt it rude to ask her about them.

Having finished their food they continued to talk over a glass of mineral water until finally Neveah brought up the book that she had wanted to discuss – a full hour after she had entered his quarters.

"So what did you make of it?" she asked him.

Artimus chose his words carefully. "I found it…_interesting_. I will say that. But I'm still not convinced that Cylons can feel things like love and hate."

"Well," she said tilting her head to the side but keeping her eyes on him. "For hate; what more proof do you need than the fact they rose up against us after we enslaved them?"

"Personally, and with respect, I feel that's a romanticized version of what happened. I know that there are people who argue that the Cylons rebelled because they developed sentience and saw that they were enslaved. But then there are others who believe that they are simply malfunctioning robots. Dr Graystone himself said that there were elements within the code programming that he couldn't explain. Maybe that's what accounted for why they rose up against us. It could also explain some of the behavior that is outlined in the book."

"Ah!" she said amused. She had clearly heard that particular argument before. "Artimus, may I ask you a personal question?" He nodded once. "Do you believe in the Gods?"

"I would have to say no," he explained. "I've seen a lot of stuff that makes me doubt them."

"I thought so," she said running her right index finger around the rim of her glass of sparkling water. "You're quite tough aren't you? You're heart is closed to only a select few and that leaves no room for omnipotent deities. Am I right?"

"I _am_ careful about who I let get close to me," he explained. "But as for the Gods; I can only believe in what I can see and feel. I just don't understand why there's a mystery to them. We are told that they watch over us always and that just infuriates me further. If that was true then why did they just sit idly by while the Cylons slaughtered women and children?"

Neveah paused for a moment before asking, "Did you ever think that maybe the Cylons are children of the Gods also?"

"What?"

"Think about it," she said to him. "Nowhere in the Holy Scriptures does it say that life has to be organic. Who is to say that life can't be artificial? And if that was true then why are we the innocent ones?"

"I think that's a despicable idea. They slaughtered relentlessly and without remorse. And even if we are all children of the Gods then why did they let that happen? If I saw two of my children fighting to the point where they were doing harm to one another I would intervene."

"Ah but your forgetting," she interjected. "The most basic article of faith is that this is not all that we are. We are just actors playing our part in a story. Death merely brings us back to the Gods."

"Well if that's true then shouldn't we all commit suicide?" asked Artimus.

Neveah laughed. "You really don't understand faith do you?"

"I'll tell you what I do understand; I understand that we are alone in this universe. There are no Gods guiding our way. We make our own way. We made the Cylons and because of some oversight in their programming they rose up and slaughtered thousands. There was no divine intervention; benevolent or otherwise. It was a mistake on our part and we paid for it."

His words had an element of finality to them. Their ideological differences had drawn a line down the centre of the table and their discussion had become almost confrontational but not hostile. They both relished in having someone they could talk to despite their differences. Opposites certainly do sometimes attract.

"Let me finish on this then," she said hinting that she was not ready to give up just yet. "Forget the Gods for a minute. Do you think that life can be artificial? I mean truly sentient life?"

Artimus thought about the question. "Again I would have to say no. The Cylons merely imitate human life. They're just machines and that's all they will ever be."

"Fair enough," she said and with that the conversation returned to discussing themselves.

The evening drew on until 2200hrs when Neveah felt that she had imposed on him long enough. She offered to help him clear away but he insisted that he do it. He opened the hatch for her and the two of them stood to face each other.

"Well thank you for a lovely evening," she said standing in the hallway.

"You're very welcome," he replied. "I guess I will see you tomorrow then, when you start filming? Oh I almost forgot." Artimus went back inside his quarters and retrieved the book she loaned him.

"Thank you," she said taking it off him. "It's a shame you aren't convinced. You're a hard nut to crack. Well good night." She leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his right cheek causing him to stifle an awkward cringe. Neveah seemed to find it funny that she could still have this reaction from a man like Colonel Artimus Bowman and she grinned slyly as she walked back to her quarters.


	3. Chapter 3

**Battlestar Cerberus  
Starboard Hangar Deck**

The aft section of the Hangar Deck had been cleared by the Deck Gang specifically for the start of the first day's filming except for one Raptor that was being loaned for use in this scene. Colonel Artimus Bowman stood to one side as he watched the film crew who had arrived the previous day aboard a fleet of transport shuttles busily preparing what was now being called 'the set'. Neveah Ratliff and Argus Johansson, the stars of the movie, were sat in chairs away from the Raptor busily having the finishing touches applied to their make up. Looking at the Raptor he knew that anyone in the military who saw it would instantly recognize the changes made to the little ship compared to the ones flown during the war that it was supposed to be representing. They may look the same but the trained eye knew better and few people knew a Raptor better than Artimus.

Lieutenant Dayton had taken to staying close to Artimus while the others went about their business of making a movie. Artimus suspected that the Lieutenant didn't have the stomach to confront the director, Marcus Goldstein, about any technical inconsistencies he saw unless asked otherwise. _If he is the kind of guy Picon Fleet Headquarters assign to these kinds of projects then no wonder the old war movies are so inaccurate! _

"Ok let's start getting ready!" called out Goldstein. "Let's do a dry run through the lines before we start filming!"

Artimus folded his arms as he watched with some amusement as everyone suddenly began to rush around. Goldstein reminded him of his Marine drill sergeant when he was at the Academy. He seemed to put the fear of the Gods into everyone except for Artimus who just stood casually by and watched. Director or not he was still a guest aboard the Cerberus. Even Neveah and Argus seemed a little afraid of his temper as they positioned in the open hatch of the Raptor. They were both masquerading as a flight crew in the movie. Johansson was supposed to be a pilot while Neveah was an ECO. Although he would never admit it she did look good in the replica Cylon War flight suit although he noticed that it did show off her curves a little more than an actual one would.

"They tailor made it for her," explained Dayton when Artimus asked rather diplomatically if it was 'authentic'. "They deliberately make it that way to show off her…_appeal_."

"I see," said Artimus disapprovingly. "Just like a cattle market." Maybe she had sensed him talking about her but at that moment Neveah looked over at him from the Raptor and gave him a little smile. He nodded in acknowledgement but hoped no one saw it. He had an honorable reputation and he intended for it to remain intact.

* * *

Further up the Hangar Deck work continued as usual albeit quieter than normal whenever it could be helped. What sound did make it down to the opposite side of the Hangar Deck would be used to add to the realism of the scene as long as it didn't conflict with the actor's voices too much.

Once again Specialist Aldo Giannis found himself working maintenance on a Viper. As per usual he worked alone in the nose section where his duties involved keeping the DRADIS array and navigational equipment operating at full spec. This particular Viper had developed a nasty tendency of generating DRADIS 'ghosts' which was when the image of a contact was repeated away from the actual contact that it was detecting. It was a simple processor malfunction that involved removing the main pack and replacing it while he repaired the broken one in the workshop. It was a job he had done many times during the past few months aboard Cerberus.

He unhooked the clips that secured the device from the Viper after he had disconnected it from the main system before pulling it free. It simply slid out from its case and he placed the small cube shaped device down onto the deck before lifting up its replacement and slotting it back in. It was as he began connecting the new processor that he saw Neveah standing at the entrance to the Raptor.

At first he didn't believe it was her. He thought it must be an extra in the movie or that it was another main actress who looked like her but as his eyes focused more intensely on the woman it soon became incontrovertible. It was Neveah Ratliff! She was standing with Argus Johansson reading over their lines and sharing a small joke with one another. He immediately recognized the smile that became emblazoned across her face. It was a smile he had never seen on anyone else.

Suddenly her eyes seemed to fall onto him. It was only for a brief second but the result was electric. It was as if it was traveling up the Hangar Deck towards him and filling his body with warmth and affection the likes of which he had never experienced in his strict Gemonese upbringing. It was highly addictive and he began to crave every bit of it. He waited, desperately hoping she would look his way again. He didn't notice if her eyes fell on him again but to just be in close proximity to her was an overwhelming experience. His body had frozen as he held the processor in place even failing to notice that his arms were growing tired.

Someone had noticed the effect she was having on him however. Specialist Simtar had been talking to another knuckledragger as they worked on a nearby Raptor and had looked up absent mindedly only to find the frozen body of Aldo beside the Viper.

"Hey!" he said as a sly grin widened on his face. "Look at this!" The other knuckledragger turned around and saw Aldo. The two of them laughed at the apparent hypnotic spell that Neveah Ratliff had put on the young man. "What an idiot. Watch this!"

Simtar picked up a dirty rag that had been resting on top of his tool box and began to sneak up behind Aldo whose glare had yet to break from Neveah. Once he was within arm's length of the young man he thrust the dirty rag around his neck and into Aldo's face. "Here!" he said obnoxiously as Aldo jumped with a start. His hands let go of the processor and it crashed down onto the deck with a loud thud. Simtar continued to hold out the rag for Aldo to take it. "Keep her in your locker!"

Simtar then turned back towards the Raptor he had been working on laughing as he went. Although Aldo was used to be on the receiving end of Simtar's jokes this was the first time he was truly annoyed with him. No, it was more than that. He was genuinely angry at him for destroying that moment even though on the surface it seemed quite insignificant. Slowly his anger began to subside and was replaced by embarrassment. He decided to get back to work and so he picked up the processor and began to put it back in.

As he did so he could hear the director shouting at several people who were working around him. Without realizing it he was watching once again but this time he was looking at the director to see if he was shouting at Neveah. The thought of him doing so seemed to anger him more than Simtar had.

* * *

Artimus stood there with Dayton listening long and hard for the words 'Lights, Camera, Action!' He was sadly disappointed however. Goldstein gave out a long and frankly mind boggling list of commands to those around him making sure that everything was ready to start the actual filming. This scene was actually at the very beginning of the movie even though filming was into its sixth month. Dayton told him that movies are rarely filmed in order of how they appear in the finished product. This made Artimus curious as to how you could do a death scene one minute then act with the now 'dead guy' in the next scene as if nothing has happened. _I guess that's why I'm not an actor._

Suddenly the set quiet down until only the faint sounds of the Cerberus Deck Gang on the opposite end could be heard. Looking through a small screen beside the main cameraman Goldstein finally shouted the word that everyone was waiting for; "Action!"

Both Argus and Neveah emerged from inside the Raptor trying to look like they had just completed a seven hour flight. Argus emerged quite casually while Neveah was pretending to try and massage an imaginary knot in her neck.

"Eight more days of this crap!" complained Neveah. "At least Achilles has got some decent facilities for some down time. Not like those frakking Colonial Patrol Vessels!"

The two of them jumped down off the wing and Argus turned to face Neveah as she followed. "Life on a Battlestar," announced Argus. "Get used to it! We're living the good life now!" As he finished speaking he lifted up his right hand and began to run his thumb across Neveah's bottom lip until his palm was against her cheek. "Y'know there is a lot of places to be alone on a Battlestar. I'm sure we could slip off somewhere later and…discuss tactics!"

Neveah smiled as she leaned up and said, "Yes sir!" before kissing him on the lips.

"Oh Gods!" Artimus couldn't help it. The words just flowed from his mouth as if he had no control over them and they echoed across 'the set'.

"Cut!" called out Goldstein angrily before turning around on his chair. "Something wrong Colonel?" The entire filmcrew were now staring at Artimus sending a volley of eye daggers his way except for Neveah who was trying to cover an amused smile with her right hand.

Artimus turned to Dayton expecting him to point out the obvious flaw in the script that he was seeing before him but the Lieutenant just kept silent. Not being one to back down Artimus turned back to Goldstein and explained, "Well, this…is…" He struggled to find the right words knowing that what he really thought was hardly diplomatic. "Well it's unrealistic."

"Really?" asked Goldstein quite sarcastically. "How so?"

"Well this is supposed to be the Battlestar Achilles during the Cylon war," said Artimus. "If I was the XO of the Achilles and I saw two officers fraternizing on a working Hangar Deck like that infront of the Deck Gang I would have them up on a charge. Well, let's be honest, they'd be hung for a serious breach of discipline."

It was always difficult to tell when Artimus was joking or not and so several of the filmcrew and even Argus Johansson had images of lovers in the military actually going to the gallows. What few of them realized was that the term 'hung' in the Colonial Fleet was military nomenclature for a court martial.

To his surprise Artimus found that it was Neveah who rose to the defence of the scene as she asked, "Yes but didn't former President Yulan meet his wife in the service? They were both Viper pilots I believe?"

"That is true," said Artimus over Goldstein who sat dumbfounded in his chair beside the camerman. "Relationships were bound to happen on Battlestars in time of war and very often the XO turned a blind eye to it on the condition that it wasn't made in public. Ever heard of putting your boots out?" Neveah shook her head. "Whenever two service personnel wanted to be alone for a while in their quarters to do _whatever_, one of them would put their boots outside the door to signal that they were not to be disturbed. It was kind of an open secret if you like."

"I see," said Goldstein who wasn't happy about suddenly finding himself out of the conversation. "Well Colonel we are not making a documentary. We are making a movie and in this movie it's ok to show affection on a Hangar Deck. Now unless you have anymore objections I would like to continue filming."

_The only objection I have is you. Frakwood!_

Artimus merely stared at the director in a threatening way. Goldstein knew he was crossing some kind of line with the Colonel and so chose to turn back to the scene he was trying to film.

"Let's do this again shall we?" sighed Goldstein.

Neveah shot Artimus an amused look before she and Argus began to clamber back into the Raptor. She had never seen anyone stand up to Goldstein before and she found the brief exchange hilarious to watch. As she prepared to do the scene one more time she had to physically fight to wipe the smile from her face which kept returning of its own accord.

* * *

**Commander Hawker's Quarters  
Five hours later**

Many times in his life Artimus Bowman had been told that he had a very distinctive knock. No matter how hard he tried to knock differently everyone knew it was him and so as he knocked on Hawker's hatch it came as no surprise to hear Hawker call out, "Come on in Artimus!"

Artimus swung the round handle through half a turn and pulled across the bolt. As the hatch squeaked open he could hear the familiar sound of a guitar playing a slow and melancholy tune called 'The poor man of Ostarsis'. After closing the hatch behind him Artimus walked upto Hawker's desk where the Commander was leaning back in his chair with his feet up and the brown six-string guitar stretched across his chest as he played.

One thing the two men had in common was their love for Aerilon country music. Artimus had inherited his passion for the type of music from his grandfather who would regularly play his records over and over again when he was working in his garden shed. Artimus used to get so sick of it back then but now it reminded him of a simpler time.

Artimus perched himself in the chair opposite Hawker's desk and the two men just listened to the sound the guitar was making. Hawker was quite a good guitar player and Artimus knew that this was how he liked to unwind. It took his mind off everything else even if it were only for a few minutes but it was amazing what those few minutes could do.

"How are our guests?" asked Hawker finally as he continued to slowly strum the song.

"I think I made a new friend today," said Artimus jokingly.

"I assume you're referring to Marcus Goldstein?" asked Hawker whose eyes stayed fixed on his hands as they worked the strings to make music. "I heard what happened on the Hangar Deck earlier today." Hawker began to chuckle to himself as he pictured his XO and Goldstein in the middle of a blazing argument over someone wearing the wrong colour buttons on a duty jacket.

"I couldn't help it," said Artimus stifling his own amusement. "It just sort of slipped out of my mouth. But you ought to see what their doing. Some of it is just ludicrous and the technical advisor assigned by Picon Fleet HQ seems to be in a coma. He just doesn't do or say anything to Goldstein about it."

"Well it's not your job to say anything. Your job is to act as liaison to them to make sure that they can do what they need to without interfering in the everyday running of Cerberus and to make them feel welcome. Speaking of which, how was dinner with Miss Ratliff last night?"

Artimus looked stunned. Somehow he had convinced himself that no one else knew about his evening with Neveah even though the chef and his staff knew and the mess hall was a breeding ground for the good old fashioned rumor mill. Having seen the surprised expression on his face Hawker added, "It seems you've become the talk of the ship."

"It was perfectly innocent I can assure you," said Artimus.

"Oh I have no doubt about that," added Hawker. "But you never really did understand the workings of public relations did you? Appearances are everything. People see something and draw their own conclusion. They then tell others and the story gets twisted until eventually the only element of truth in what you hear is that you two _did _have dinner together. Alone! That's all the evidence they need. You should be more careful. I'm certain you don't want this getting back to the snipes in the engine room."

"No," said Artimus knowing exactly who Hawker was referring to; Barry Garner, his wife's brother. Artimus was uncomfortable enough having this conversation and so he decided to switch it back to the operation above Leonis. "What's the latest from the asylum?"

"Well the Leonis TC grid is back up and running so they are handling most of the traffic themselves again. Unfortunately there is such a huge backlog that we are being kept around for a bit longer just in case. The Battlestar Atlantia and the Battlestar Hermes are pulling out and returning to their original assignments so it's just us and Vanguard keeping an eye on things as well as the Leonis defence fleet. We're still going to be here for a few more days. I may put a word into Picon to arrange some R&R for the crew on the surface in a week or two once things are back to normal. So for the time being I'm just kicking back and forgetting about everything for a minute."

The intercom handset beside his desk buzzed the second he had finished speaking causing the Commander to lose his concentration which resulted in a rather clumsy end to his song.

"Spoke too soon perhaps?" said Artimus.

Hawker reached over and lifted up the handset before placing it to the side of his head to answer the call. "Hawker…Yes he is, one moment." Hawker leaned over to give the handset to Artimus. "It's for you!"

"Bowman!" announced Artimus once he had received it from Hawker.

"Sergeant Morgan here sir," replied the voice of the Cerberus Master-at-arms. "Your presence is requested at Miss Ratliff and Mr. Goldstein's quarters."

"Very well, I am on my way," answered Artimus before hanging up the handset. "You'll have to excuse me a minute, I've been summoned by Goldstein!"

"I won't have any bloodshed on my ship Colonel," called out Hawker as Artimus began to walk out of the Commander's quarters. Hawker found this whole affair extremely amusing to watch in the same way that Scott Tolan was probably laughing about it on Picon. Artimus Bowman was an extremely private man who preferred doing things with an air of decorum. He despised anyone with an over inflated ego even when he was CAG aboard the Valkyrie and egos went with the territory. His pilots always knew that if you done right then you would get recognition for it but otherwise they dare not boast infront of him especially if it was unwarranted.

For those who knew Artimus Bowman well they also knew of the fiery temper that lurks underneath his otherwise quiet and reserved exterior. Although since he had married Brooke Garner he had calmed down considerably there were those like Hawker who were waiting with morbid curiosity to see what was going to tip him back over the edge.

* * *

Artimus approached the quarters that had been assigned to Neveah Ratliff and Marcus Goldstein as well as several others of the more senior members of the group of filmmakers. His biggest concern as he walked there was why the Master-at-arms had called for him? If the chief of ship's security was at the scene then no doubt one of them was out of line. This thought dominated his mind as every report in the media he had heard about celebrities being drunk or rowdy filled his head. Before he even got there his temper was beginning to flare at the idea of Argus Johansson turning the Cerberus into front page news because of some inappropriate behavior.

As he reached the quarters he found Sergeant Morgan outside talking quite calmly to Aaron Doral. As soon as he was in view the two of them stopped talking and approached him. Morgan was a little over six foot two with short cut dark hair. Artimus liked working with Morgan because he knew that he didn't take any crap from anyone but at the same time was a consummate professional rather than a bully as many in his job were.

"What's going on Sergeant?" asked Artimus stopping just outside the hatch.

"Sir, it appears that someone has entered these quarters without authorization while everyone was working on the Hangar Deck," explained Morgan.

"Was anything taken?" asked Artimus whose eyebrows rose in surprise. This had been the last thing he expected to happen and so was a little off guard about it.

"No sir," replied Morgan, "but a note was left underneath Miss Ratliff's pillow." Sergeant Morgan held up a small plastic evidence bag containing the note. Artimus took it off him and tried to read what the hand written note said through the transparent bag however he didn't understand the language. "It's old Gemonese," explained Morgan. "I've had one of my men translate it. It reads; I shall help you onto the path for thou art lost and in need of my guidance. It's from an old proverb apparently. It refers to people who have become lost from the Gods."

"I see," said Artimus who continued to examine the piece of paper that had clearly been torn from a book. He turned it over to look at the back. There was a thin line protruding out from the tear at the top that curved around and continued until it reached the tear on the opposite side. It was clearly part of a diagram but it was impossible to tell what it was. Artimus thought he recognized the type of paper although he could not be certain. "This looks like it came from a technical manual, like the type we use for Raptors and Vipers. Of course it could also be a dozen other things but I think the first place to start looking should be the Hangar Deck."

"Ah, on that note," interjected Doral quickly who was looking over his shoulder at Marcus Goldstein and Neveah Ratliff who were talking inside the quarters. Doral then turned back to Artimus in a way that signaled he didn't want anyone else to overhear their conversation. "Um, I would prefer it if we just let this matter rest. Nobody wants to be anymore of an intrusion to you and your fine crew."

"Mr Doral!" boomed Artimus who had no intention of hiding his conversation from anyone. "Someone has gained access to a part of this ship that they were restricted from. Now, regardless of the nature of such an entry this is a serious breach of ship's security and I intend to launch an investigation."

Doral seemed to start backtracking before again he talked in a hushed voice. "I can perfectly understand why you would feel that way and it's commendable. Truly!" As Doral spoke Artimus felt like he was talking to a used car salesman. "But I am asking you to look at the bigger picture here. You see when incidents such as this happen it creates a media storm even when it's something as trivial as leaving a little note for Nev."

"That note," Artimus protested, "implies that Miss Ratliff needs someone's help. Now whoever sent it clearly sees himself as wanting to give that help and that can be a dangerous thing when it is misplaced."

Doral smiled mockingly. "Believe me Colonel, this is not the first time a celebrity has had a note from a fan who wanted to save their soul and ninety nine times out of a hundred it ends with the note. Now let me explain to you the two forces that are about to collide here. Now from Mr Goldstein's point of view this type of publicity for the movie is solid gold. They will play on it just to draw in the crowds for the finished film. But from the Fleet's point of view this could turn into a major embarrassment. Think about it; a breach of security on a Battlestar, worse still on Cerberus with its law enforcement mission. Heads will roll unless we downplay this a little so it doesn't get out of control."

Artimus paused for a moment and thought that Doral was already jumping to the worse case scenario. He had to admit that he was right however. He had seen what happened to good officers when the media got hold of some juicy bit of information. They were relegated to mundane duties or simply discharged because they had become a liability to the Fleet's prestige. That being the case, however, he couldn't just let this go.

"Alright," he said to Doral. "Here's what I am going to do. I'm going to speak to Miss Ratliff and if she feels that she is in any kind of danger then I will proceed with an investigation. If not then I will let it be."

"Thank you," said Doral.

"However," interjected Artimus quickly. "Either way I am going to instruct Sergeant Morgan to increase security in this section."

"I'll get right on it sir," said Morgan.

"Very well Colonel," said Doral. "I will leave it in your capable hands."

Artimus walked away towards Neveah. She was still with Goldstein who, like Doral, was talking with a hushed voice. Neveah seemed to be disagreeing with him about something however.

"Excuse me Miss Ratliff," said Artimus as he approached them. Goldstein immediately fell silent and stood aside. "First of all I'd like to apologize on behalf of the ship's company for any distress this incident may have caused you."

"It's really not necessary," said Neveah smiling politely although he could see it was a little forced.

"You have the apology anyway," continued Artimus sternly. "Now I have already made arrangements with the Master-at-arms to increase security in this corridor for the duration of your stay. However if you feel uncomfortable staying here then I will arrange some quarters elsewhere."

Goldstein tried to accept the offer but Neveah quickly cut him off. "No thank you Colonel. What probably happened was that one of us left the door open and a fan wanted to leave a note for me. I know that some of my activities off camera have been considered inappropriate by the more devout people in our society. I'm sure nothing else will come of it and I'd rather leave it at that if it is all the same."

Goldstein looked genuinely disappointed and after talking with Doral Artimus was certain that the director had conjured up headlines like 'Stalker pursues movie star on Battlestar' or something like that. No doubt he wanted to add the bi-line of 'Colonel proves useless'. Thankfully Neveah was saving him from all that.

"Ok then," said Artimus in a softer and more comforting tone. "Well in that case I shall bid you all good night and once again you have my apologies whether you want them or not." Artimus smiled warmly and Neveah returned the compliment.

"Good night Colonel," said Neveah. "And thank you!"

* * *

**Artimus Bowman's Quarters  
An hour later **

The warm water from the shower streamed down onto Artimus as he stood there leaning against the tiled wall with his hands. Normally a shower would make him feel rejuvenated and fresh but today not even the warm cleansing water could ease his mind. He was annoyed that he was being prevented from investigating the origin of the mysterious note left under Neveah's pillow. For him it was a loose end on an otherwise tight ship that he helped run along with Hawker and if there was one thing Artimus Bowman despised it was loose ends. He often likened loose ends to being akin to going on holiday but leaving the front door of your house open. How can you guarantee no one is going to just walk in and take what they want?

He turned off the shower and reached for a towel from the rail before beginning to dry himself. As he went through the motion he couldn't help but wonder why anyone would send such a note. He began going over the evidence in his mind once more. _Old Gemonese! _The original Gemonese language was hardly spoken anymore except in a few isolated places on Gemenon. The current Gemonese language had evolved into the now universal one spoken on all twelve colonies. In a sense the old language was obsolete. Not even the Holy Scriptures were taught in it any longer.

Dried, he opened his closet and took out a pair of baggy utility trousers which were more comfortable than his duty trousers and began putting them on. As he pulled them up his thoughts turned to the piece of paper the note was written on. At the time he was sure that it was written on a piece of paper torn from a flight manual since the paper was harder and denser than most to help cope with the variable conditions often experienced operating such craft as the Raptor or Viper. Ordinary paper is too fragile and tears easily. In hindsight he began to realize that it was hardly conclusive since that type of paper was also used to make engineering manuals as well as field medical books and a plethora of other applications.

With his trousers on he reached in for a bright red t-shirt that had written across the front 'Abry Military Academy Amateur Boxing Team'. He rolled it up into a ring around the neck before placing it over his head and down onto his torso. His thoughts now turned to the message itself.

"I shall help you onto the path for thou art lost and in need of my guidance."

As Sergeant Morgan had explained it was an extract from an old proverb. The message itself was immediately obvious; someone clearly felt that Neveah Ratliff's eternal soul was in need of saving. The two questions that burned in his mind were who and how? There were many aboard Cerberus who were believers in the Gods. There was no crime in that but who would possibly go to the trouble of trying to 'save' others and have the know-how to get in and out of the room without anyone seeing him? Or _her_ for that matter. There was no definite proof that the culprit was male. His mind drew a blank and while Doral and indeed Neveah herself may have been happy to leave it there he was not but he was forced to comply with their wishes.

He slumped into his chair beside his desk and let his head fall back as he took a deep and cleansing breath silently wishing that this had happened on someone else's ship. He closed his eyes and took in another breath. There was suddenly a heavy knocking on his hatch. His eyes shot open in surprise as he realized he had momentarily fallen asleep in his chair. He quickly composed himself before calling out for the visitor to enter.

The hatch opened and to his surprise and dread he found that his visitor was Major Barry Garner, the Chief Engineer and his wife's brother. As a rule, family members don't usually serve on the same ship but this mostly applied to blood relations. Therefore the two of them found themselves on Cerberus despite their deep loathing for one another.

Artimus braced himself before asking, "Evening Major, what can I do for you?"

Barry Garner had a brown folder in his right hand. He held it up to show Artimus who immediately recognized it as the monthly FITREP for the engineering room. Artimus leaned forward and took the folder off the Major who stood there standing quietly like a statue. This was indeed a unique moment. In all the time that Artimus had been aboard Cerberus he had never had the Engine Room's monthly FITREP delivered by Garner personally.

Artimus opened it up and glanced through it before saying, "I'm surprised you delivered this yourself Major. Usually you send someone down here with it so you don't have to be in the same room as me for more than you have to be."

Garner's beady eyes glared down at Artimus. "Permission to ask the Colonel a question?" he asked in a poisonous and hate filled tone. Artimus threw the folder down onto his desk and looked back up at Garner. He suspected what this might have been about and was frankly surprised this confrontation hadn't happened earlier.

"Depends," said Artimus. "Are asking me as your XO or your brother-in-law?"

"What do you think?" asked Garner gruffly.

"Close the hatch!" said Artimus indicating to the hatch that Garner had left open. This was between them and no one else. Garner obliged and soon the two of them were sealed in the room. "What do you want Barry?"

Garner turned around and said, "The rumor mill has been going haywire with stories about you and this…this actress that's onboard. Neveah Ratliff."

"Really? What do the rumors say?" Artimus chose to let Garner take the lead. Talking to him was just like a boxing match. It was better to wait until Garner was out of steam before Artimus threw in the killer blow as he always had done in previous encounters between the two of them.

"They say you had her in here last night and that the two of you had dinner together. Is it true?"

"Yes," said Artimus firmly. "It's true but I can assure you that nothing inappropriate happened. I would have thought that by now I wouldn't have to justify myself to you?"

"You took my sister away from her family," Garner snarled taking a step closer towards Artimus as he did so. "How could anyone trust someone like you?"

"That's not true Barry," replied Artimus calmly in order not to enflame the situation. "You drove her out, remember? And I have been nothing but faithful to Brooke since the day I met her. I wish you'd understand that."

"Faithful men don't entertain young women in their quarters behind closed doors!"

"Maybe not in your mind but I can assure you that's what happened," continued Artimus.

"What did you talk about?" asked Garner who seemed to be getting desperate to find the answer he wanted to hear as opposed to the truth that Artimus was giving him.

"What do you mean what did we talk about?" repeated Artimus sighing with frustration.

"It's a legitimate question," added Garner pushing for his answer.

"If you must know she mostly talked about her career while I talked about _Brooke_." Artimus made it a point to stress that they talked about his wife in an effort to convince Garner that he was honest and faithful. "And then, if you can believe it, we talked about Cylons and whether they can feel love!"

"Are you mocking me?" asked Garner whose fists seemed to clench as he heard Artimus explain the main topic of his and Neveah's conversation.

"Oh believe me, I wish I was!" said Artimus who immediately thought back to the moment he heard the ridiculous plot of the movie that was being filmed about a Cylon falling in love with a Colonial woman.

"I suppose Brooke doesn't know about your evening with another woman?" asked Garner who was now desperately trying to pick a hole in the story.

"I have hadn't chance to tell her yet," said Artimus who was now beginning to get annoyed.

"How convenient!"

"You want to tell her? Be my guest. Go on I'll even let you use my own phone." Artimus was almost daring Garner to make the next move as he gestured at the intercom handset. Garner just stood there. Although in his own mind he had a million reasons why his youngest sister shouldn't have anything to do with Artimus Bowman, the biggest of which was the age difference between the two, Garner knew that too much had been said between him and Brooke for her to pay any attention to anything he had to say anymore. In effect he had burned his bridges behind him when he prevented any of Brooke's family from attending her own wedding in protest to the marriage.

For his part Artimus never truly hated Barry Garner. Instead he felt overwhelming sympathy for him. He was so blinded by anger and frustration towards Artimus for reasons that in truth not even he fully understood that he could only ever see the bad in him. Artimus stood up and walked towards Garner who prepared himself for what he thought was the inevitable physical confrontation that the two had been ready for from day one. Instead Artimus kept his hands down and looked at Garner with considerate eyes. Who could blame Garner for wanting to protect his younger sister? It was a trait Artimus truly admired and respected but it had gone too far in this instance.

"Listen to me Barry! I love Brooke more than anything or anyone. She's my life and I would never do anything to hurt her. Now one day you're going to have to accept that we are together and when that happens I give you my word that I will accept you into my family. Let's make a start here. What do you say?"

Artimus held out his hand of friendship for Barry Garner for what was probably the one hundredth time. Barry looked down at it and thought for a moment before looking back up at Artimus and saying, "Frak your family!"

Garner then turned leaving Artimus feeling like a primed nuclear bomb. He was so infuriated that his fists had clenched together so deeply that his fingernails were digging into his palms leaving four deep indentations in his skin. He turned around and vented in one swift move as his hands thumped down onto his desk which banged in protest.

"Bastard!" he said through gritted teeth.

* * *

**Battlestar Cerberus  
Starboard Hangar Deck**

Chief Graves was having a bad day with a particularly troublesome Viper. Any Deck Chief who had put in the time will tell you that just like their pilots Vipers are extremely temperamental. Some days they will start first time and do everything you ask it to. Other days it seemed the Viper would do everything it could to make the life of a knuckledragger a living hell. Today, Viper Nine-Seven was doing just that. The port wing missile launching mechanism, a tricky system at the best of times, was causing no end of problems. After trying to get it to properly eject the launch rail without fouling for the eighth time Graves had had enough and pulled the whole mechanism out for maintenance.

The mechanism itself is a scissor like apparatus that is light enough to be carried by a single person. Having grown frustrated with it Graves had declared war and had taken personal charge of fixing it. He carried it off the Hangar Deck and took it into the adjacent workshop before placing it down on the work bench.

He turned around to get the right sized torque wrench from the opposite side of the room when he suddenly froze with fear. There on the ground infront of him was the beaten and bloody body of one of his Specialists. His face was so badly mauled that he was unrecognizable. Having got over the immediate shock of what he was seeing he heard a faint whimpering coming from behind the workbench in the middle of the room.

He slowly walked around the bench with his heart racing and his body filled with adrenalin. Once he reached the other side he saw Aldo Giannis curled up in a ball on the floor sobbing bitterly. He was uninjured but his hands were covered in blood.


	4. Chapter 4

A lesson about command that Artimus had learned very quickly aboard the Cerberus was that bad news almost always came in the middle of the night. He ran through the corridors of the ship towards the Hangar Deck wearing only his red Abry t-shirt, utility trousers and pair of boots. He had no socks or underwear on since he wanted to save as much time as possible. Everywhere he went crewmembers would quickly step aside as he came into sight fearing that they would be run over by the sheer power of his charge.

He arrived on the Hangar Deck just in time to see the medics attending to the victim who was still on the floor inside the workshop. The sight of the badly beaten face was the only thing that stopped him in his tracks. It was a shock to say the least. Artimus looked down as a medic was inserting a _Tracheotomy_tube into the victim's neck to help him breath. He was alive but barely. His face was so savagely beaten that it had lost its overall form and breathing was becoming difficult due to blood from his injuries seeping into his lungs via his throat. With the tube fully inserted into the neck the victim began to breathe more comfortably allowing the medics to finally move him onto a stretcher and carry him out.

"Stand clear!" yelled one of the two medics who was attending the incident.

Artimus immediately walked out of the workshop and yelled at the gathered crowd of worried knuckledraggers, "Make a hole! Make a frakking hole!" His voice seemed to echo the entire length of the Hangar Deck and the startled Deck Gang soon began to jump clear as the two medics rushed through pushing the stretcher as they went. It was not long before they were out of sight.

Artimus walked back in and with the shocking sight of the victim's face now gone he finally took a look around the workshop properly. To his left leaning up against the workbench with a face that resembled that of a distraught father was Chief Graves. Artimus looked to his right and saw Sergeant Morgan standing infront of someone sitting in a chair. The Sergeant was asking him some questions but he wasn't getting a response.

"Chief," said Artimus but Graves didn't respond. "Chief!" Artimus shook the Deck Chief's right arm snapping him out of his near hypnotic glare at the sprinkling of blood on the workshop floor.

"Sorry sir," said Graves whose eyes seemed to be blinking for the first time in ages.

"Who is it?" asked Artimus referring to the victim. Graves didn't seem to understand whom Artimus was referring to and so Artimus nodded towards the blood on the floor.

"Specialist Simtar sir," explained Graves. "I found him on the floor with 'Titch'. I mean, uh, Specialist Giannis."

It was at that point that Sergeant Morgan stepped aside and Artimus had a direct line-of-sight with Aldo Giannis sitting on a stool in the corner with handcuffs restraining his blood-soaked wrists. His eyes were quite red from having cried bitter tears and he just sat there rocking slowly back and fore in a near catatonic state.

Sergeant Morgan saw the XO for the first time and proceeded towards Artimus leaving two of his men to guard Giannis. It was at that moment that Hawker appeared in the doorway wearing his duty uniform. He knew Artimus would be quick to get to the scene and get everything under control so he elected to take his time in arriving. _A Commander must look the part_ was his primary philosophy.

"_He_ did it?" asked Artimus to Sergeant Morgan motioning towards Giannis.

"He was found next to the body and his hands are covered in blood," explained Morgan.

"Well that doesn't really prove anything Sergeant," said Artimus with hint of fury bubbling over in his voice.

"It proves he is in someway involved in this," added Hawker.

"With all due respect sir," said Artimus who seemed to be biting his tongue. "We don't know anything for sure except that he was here when Chief Graves found them." Hawker looked unconvinced and quite puzzled at his XO's willingness to defend the Specialist who was being accused of the crime. "Sir, before we proceed with any charges we need to have a proper investigation. I want to be certain that the person we charge with this is the right guy. Frankly, Giannis just being here isn't enough to satisfy me."

"I-I completely agree Colonel," said Hawker cutting him off. "But in the meantime I want Giannis confined to the brig as a precautionary measure until he can answer a few questions. We'll have the medics look him over in there and under guard. Carry on gentlemen!"

"Yes sir," replied Artimus and Morgan together before Hawker turned to leave the matter in their hands.

"Master-at-arms!" boomed a voice from the corridor leading away from the workshop on the opposite side to the main Hangar Deck. Sergeant Morgan and Artimus rushed out into the adjacent corridor. They ran several paces to find another one of Morgan's security detail standing beside a rather large wrench that was covered in blood. Artimus recognized the wrench immediately as one that was used on some of the bigger components of a Raptor. They usually weighed somewhere in the range of five kilograms and was quite a bulky piece of equipment. Artimus knew that it was hardly an ideal weapon to attack someone with due to its ungainly size but it did account for the mess on Simtar's face.

"Well looks like we found our weapon," said Morgan looking down at it. It was then they noticed that scattered all over the floor further along the corridor were pieces of plastic and wires.

"What's that?" asked Artimus pointing to it. Since Morgan and his men were wearing gloves it was safe for them to pick up the pieces for investigation without contaminating the evidence that might be on them such as fingerprints or DNA. Morgan walked back to Artimus with two of the largest pieces one of which was clearly from a small television screen.

"It looks to me like a portable media player," said Morgan looking the pieces over carefully. "A lot of the crew have these to watch movies on and listen to music when they're in their rack. We might be looking at some sort of attempted theft that went wrong."

"Well if that's the case," added Artimus. "Why is this and the weapon out here and Simtar in the workshop?"

"Maybe the attacker came running out here in a panic and dropped it," suggested Morgan.

"Well then that clears Giannis," said Artimus. "I doubt he would run back in only to be found over the body."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that sir," said Morgan. "People can do funny things under extreme stress. It might be that Giannis assaulted Simtar, stole the media player and came running out here with it and the wrench, accidentally dropped the wrench onto the media player thus smashing it. Then maybe he began to worry about what he had done or thought that if he returned to the scene then he wouldn't be a suspect. I've seen both before."

"Really?" asked Artimus who was finding it a little hard to believe.

"Yes sir," replied Morgan who went on to explain, "My first tour was on the ground following the Aquarian Tsunami. You were there too weren't you sir?"

"Yea," said Artimus whose mind was casting back to particularly unpleasant part of his career. Thirteen years earlier a massive underwater quake on Aquaria had resulted in a Tsunami that engulfed the western continent. The result was devastation not seen since the Cylon War. The troops were called in to restore order on the planet and Artimus was flying Commando Raptors at the time which is a specialized troop transport version of the basic Raptor. He can still remember the bodies of the victims being loaded up in the rear of his Raptor on a near daily basis. Worse still was that they were not always victims of the Tsunami but had been murdered by desperate people during the breakdown of law and order that followed.

Morgan continued his own story, "Once we were called to a house where a man claimed he had found the murdered body of his neighbour whom he had been friends with for twenty years. The man was adamant he had nothing to do with it but we had several witnesses who said he had seen him arguing with the victim just hours earlier. The guy had no memory of it and under investigation the regional shrink declared that he had blocked the memory out making him think that he was innocent. Could be the same thing here?"

Artimus was frankly dumbfounded by the explanation that Morgan was offering him. The very idea that someone could forget murdering someone else seemed ludicrous but he knew Morgan to be quite competent and rational and this further reinforced the Sergeant's argument.

"Well until we know more Sergeant," said Artimus. "Let's keep an open mind shall we?"

"Of course sir," said Morgan.

"Right, gather up the weapon and the pieces of the media player and take them to your office. I'm going to the brig to oversee the examination of Giannis by the medics. Let's see if he is talking yet."

"Yes sir," said Morgan. As Artimus began to turn back towards the door to the workshop Morgan called out, "Sir!" Artimus stopped and turned around once more to see what the Sergeant wanted. "Should I contact the civilian departments and have them assist us?"

Artimus looked back at his Sergeant as he realized that he occasionally forgot that Cerberus was not just a Battlestar but a spaceborne law enforcement vessel with significant civilian law enforcement officials and departments onboard. That being said he also didn't like how some of them handled their investigations.

"For the time being let's just keep this between our own ranks," said Artimus who the continued on his way to the brig where Giannis was being held.

* * *

**Battlestar Cerberus  
Brig**

It took just a few minutes for Artimus to reach the brig. When he got there he found that a medic was already in the cell looking over Giannis. The guard stood in the doorway to the cell with his pistol ready should Giannis try to cease his chance to escape or take the medic as a hostage.

The medic was a young woman named Amira Kalidas. She was in her early twenties and had long silky black hair tied into a ponytail that ran down her back between her shoulders. As Artimus watched her cleaning the blood from Giannis's hands he couldn't help but admire how calm she was. This man was a suspect in a vicious assault and while Artimus himself had repeatedly insisted that all those involved in the investigation keep an open mind even he had to admit that there was a strong possibility that he had done it. None of that seemed to matter to Kalidas. She simply went about her examination with all the care and consideration she would have given any other patient. It was a trait that Artimus truly admired as he began to entertain the possibility that Giannis was indeed the one that was responsible for the attack on Simtar.

During the course of her examination Artimus heard Giannis mumbling a few things to her but it was so quiet that he couldn't make out exactly what was said and apparently neither could Kalidas. Giannis seemed more responsive now than he had been in the workshop. Although his whole body was trembling he did seem to be cooperating with Kalidas although she had to repeat several of her commands and on more than one occasion she had to mimic what she wanted him to do. He seemed uninjured and in the mind of Artimus Bowman that ruled out that he was also attacked in some way since there should have been some defensive wounds if that were the case.

Artimus stood and watched for ten minutes until finally Kalidas stood up and patted him on the shoulder before walking out with a bag containing her examination equipment. Giannis made no effort to move from the bunk he was sitting on. His head simply slumped into his hands and began to sob bitterly while at the same time continuing to utter words that Artimus failed to comprehend. Once Kaildas was out the guard shut the door and returned to his desk opposite to keep watch on his prisoner.

Artimus took Kalidas outside the room to talk with her in the adjacent corridor.

"Well?" asked Artimus. "What's the prognosis?"

Kalidas stood infront of Artimus with her examination bag slung over her left shoulder. Artimus towered over her five foot eight inch stature forcing her to look up as she addressed him.

"He's suffering from extreme psychological trauma," she explained. "He has mentally reverted back to a point where he has almost totally blocked out reality. He is having difficulty responding to both audio and visual stimuli."

"I understand that," said Artimus who was getting frustrated at being told something he could clearly see for himself. "What I want to know is could this psychological trauma he's suffering from be what may have caused him to attack a fellow crewmember?"

Kalidas seemed to scoff at Artimus before replying, "I'm not a psychic Colonel. I can't tell what caused this only what he is suffering from and how to treat it."

"Ok then," said Artimus. "What about in general?"

"Excuse me Colonel?"

Artimus tried to find the words he was looking for to get the conclusive answer he so desperately wanted, "In cases like this, is it possible that it could be the result of him having blanked out the memory of attacking someone or is this the result of him remembering attacking his fellow crewmember? Does that make sense?"

"I'm afraid not sir," said Kalidas honestly. "I'm sorry Colonel but I don't know what answer you want me to give you."

It was at that point that Artimus realized that the only way to get an answer from her was to be direct. "Ok, did this man attack his fellow knuckledragger?"

"How could I possibly answer that?" she asked slightly annoyed before adding, "Sir! This man is presenting all the symptoms of someone who has experienced a deep psychological trauma. Now if you want me to say to you that attacking someone in blind rage can cause a reaction like this then I have to say yes it is possible. However it is _also _possible that this is the result from having found his friend in that way lying on the floor in a pool of blood or even witnessing the attack himself. I cannot give you a straight answer on this…sir!"

Artimus felt mildly embarrassed. Somehow he had convinced himself that a medical examination would reveal some clue about whether or not Giannis was responsible for the attack on Simtar. He was clearly asking too much of the young medic and feeling like a troublesome schoolboy brought before the principal he sheepishly apologized. She accepted his apology with grace before he asked, "Just one more thing. Is he able to answer questions?"

"Not for a little while I am afraid," said Kalidas shaking her head. "As I said he is not responding properly to the relevant stimuli and also appears to have reverted back to his first language. Gemonese I believe - an old dialect for certain. My father is from Gemenon and I have never heard him speak like that."

"Old Gemonese," uttered Artimus whose mind immediately cast back to the note that had been left for Neveah Ratliff in her quarters. _Could Giannis have had something to do with that as well?_ The chances that these two incidents were related seemed unlikely since they were so far removed from one another. They happened on different parts of the ship with no direct link except for the fact that Giannis apparently spoke Old Gemonese. Artimus decided to be mindful of the possible link but not to let it dominate his thoughts for the time being. "When do you think he will be able to speak again?"

"That's all down to him really," she said looking back in through the open door at Giannis sitting in his cell weeping. She then turned back to Artimus. "We can try to help him but only he can decide when he is going to come out of it. In extreme cases we can administer suppressant drugs but that's upto the Chief Medical Officer to decide aboard a Battlestar. In any case I doubt it would help your investigation since anything he would say under the influence of such drugs would not be admissible in a court or even an inquiry. It would purely be for recuperation purposes. I'm sorry that there isn't anything more I can do."

"I understand," said Artimus. "Thank you, you've been very helpful. You're dismissed."

As Kalidas walked away Artimus looked back in at Giannis one last time all the while he was asking himself one question; _Did this guy try to kill Specialist Simtar? _

* * *

**Master-at-arms Office**

Sergeant Morgan's office was just a few meters away from the brig. Artimus made his way there directly from the cell where Giannis was being held. The office was a room about ten meters long and seven meters wide with access to a small arms locker in an adjacent room. Located next to that was another door that led to what was effectively the evidence room. There was a desk on the left and it was here that Artimus found Morgan with all the evidence he had gathered up from the hallway adjacent to the workshop where the attack had happened.

The blood-soaked wrench sat on the table concealed inside a large plastic evidence bag and Morgan had just finished giving it a numbered tag for the purposes of keeping a record of it all. He was going about tagging the three small bags he had used to collect up the pieces of the media player that was found alongside it when Artimus walked in and he stood to attention. Artimus acknowledged the gesture before filling him on what the medic had told him about Giannis. It was a frustrating thing for both men to have to accept since they both wanted to know whether they had the attacker in custody or if he was still roaming the ship somewhere.

Artimus looked down the wrench. He picked it up still inside the evidence bag and immediately could feel the weight of it. Its size made his handling of it quite clumsy with one hand.

"I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that!" said Morgan almost jokingly.

"Definitely," replied Artimus. Artimus continued to look at it examining it closely. Feeling it in his hand he began to imagine himself attacking someone with it and immediately concluded that whoever did attack Simtar with it must have been quite big to swing it around hard enough to achieve the injuries the victim had sustained. "Let me ask you something Sergeant? If you were in that workshop and you wanted to kill someone would you use this wrench?"

Sergeant Morgan didn't quite understand the question at first but finally he answered, "Um…I guess so."

"Why not a screwdriver?" asked Artimus. "Think about it! There were plenty of them around all within easy reach and it would have been more effective to stab someone than to bludgeon them with an industrial sized wrench."

"That's true sir," said Morgan who then suggested, "Maybe the intention wasn't to kill Simtar but to just hurt him and it got out of control?"

Morgan's remark gave rise to an epiphany. "What if the person who did it _was_ out of control? What if the attacker had a sudden fit of rage and just grabbed the first thing he could get his hands on? In this case a big Frak-off wrench! If it was premeditated then the attacker would have used a knife or taken one of the screwdrivers from off the tool rack." Artimus then took it further. "Something happened in that workshop that triggered this in Giannis."

Before he could continue Morgan asked, "Sir, are you definitely considering Giannis as a suspect now?"

Artimus sighed deeply before smirking at his own slip of the tongue after ordering specifically that until further evidence was discovered they were not directly accusing Giannis. Having heard the report from Kalidas he had to admit that he was now beginning to think that Giannis was indeed the attacker. The hypothesis he was concocting fitted into the mental state that Giannis was now in. Nevertheless he stayed true to his word since it was after all only a hypothesis.

"You're right Sergeant, forgive me," said Artimus. "The attacker! The attacker was in the workshop with Simtar. Something happened between the two of them which threw the attacker over the edge. He reached for something he could use as a weapon. The only thing he had in immediate reach was the wrench. He took it and attacked Simtar over and over until he was half dead and his face was so brutalized that the only way he could be identified was through Chief Graves checking his tags."

"Sir?" asked Morgan before he asked playfully, "Are you after my job?" Artimus just smiled in acceptance of what he took as a compliment. "But I'm afraid it leaves one question still unanswered; the media player?"

Suddenly Artimus saw his theory collapse around him. It was the only thing he still couldn't quite explain but Morgan added, "What if you're right, sir, in that this wasn't premeditated but instead this was a theft that went wrong? What if the attacker saw the media player and tried to steal it? Simtar saw him and confronted him. They got into a fight and the attacker reached for the wrench. Before he knows it Simtar is on the floor and he's running out through the door with the weapon and the media player. He drops them accidentally and smashes what he was after in the first place leaving him with nothing."

"I think you're job is safe Sergeant," said Artimus realizing that his theory was more likely. "Unless!" he uttered as a thought suddenly sprung to his mind. "Unless there was something on the media player that enraged the attacker?"

Sergeant Morgan was getting mildly annoyed now. Although he had a lot of respect for the XO he began wishing that he was left alone to investigate it himself. Nevertheless he was forced to hear out what Artimus Bowman was now pondering.

"What do you mean sir?"

"Did you know that Giannis speaks Old Gemonese?" asked Artimus realizing it was a detail he had somehow left out when he informed Morgan of their main suspect's condition.

"Old Gemonese?" repeated Morgan. "That's what the note to Miss Ratliff was written in."

"Yea," said Artimus. "What if Giannis was the one who sent that note to Neveah Ratliff? Maybe…Maybe Giannis has some obsession about Ratliff? Maybe there was something on the media player that upset him and in a fit of rage he attacked Simtar. Rage is probably the most irrational of emotions. I would know, believe me. Anger has caused me to do some really stupid things in the past. Things you cant really justify."

"Funny," said Morgan grinning as he told himself a private joke. "I always thought that was love?"

Artimus didn't respond. His face remained expressionless as he said, "More often than not, Sergeant, the two go hand in hand. Is the memory card for the media player intact?"

Morgan looked through the three evidence bags containing pieces of the media player until he lifted one of them up to take a closer look before handing it to Artimus. They were in luck. The memory card had survived.

"May I use your computer Sergeant?" asked Artimus referring to the Sergeant's computer perched on the corner of his desk.

"Of course sir," said Morgan who stood out of the way to allow Artimus to sit down behind the desk. Artimus handed the bag back to Morgan and motioned for him to put the memory card into his computer before indicating his glove-less hands. Artimus was smart enough to know not to contaminate the evidence with his own fingerprints and DNA. Artimus also knew that as the Master-at-arms aboard Cerberus Sergeant Morgan needed to remain present during the whole viewing of what was contained on the memory card to ensure that Artimus didn't change any data stored on there. "If I may ask, sir, what are we looking for?"

"If I am right about this, Sergeant," said Artimus. "Anything with Neveah Ratliff on it. While we are doing this I recommend you have your men search his locker."

And so it was that for the next hour and a half Artimus and Sergeant Morgan sat there going through the immense library of movies and images that were stored on the memory card. One thing the two of them discovered quite quickly was that Specialist Simtar had a lot of pornography stored on the card. Much of it was quite gratuitous and very strong in places but so far they hadn't uncovered anything that might have triggered a violent response from Giannis. They went through the list of video files trying to find Neveah Ratliff movies to quickly go through first. There were three of them out of a total of a hundred and ninety seven video files. They were basic films that included the movie 'Operation: Raptor Talon' that Artimus loathed so much. The two men viewed them at high speed to see if there was anything unusual on the video file before moving onto the next.

Before long two of Morgan's men returned from the Hangar Deck after having searched Giannis's locker. Again each item retrieved was placed inside its own evidence bag and as it was piled up onto Morgan's desk for the two of them to inspect Artimus couldn't help but think that he hadn't seen this much stuff wrapped up in plastic since he and Brooke had moved into their apartment in Delphi. Everything from his locker was there including a certain picture. As Morgan saw it he picked it up and showed it to Artimus.

"Neveah Ratliff," he uttered looking at the poster that had been found on the inside of Giannis's locker. Morgan placed it back down and the two of them continued to look through the pile. Artimus stumbled upon a small book with gold lettering on the front. He picked it up and tried to read the front but didn't understand what it said.

As he saw the XO examining the book Sergeant Morgan said, "Looks like a copy of the Holy Scriptures."

"In Old Gemonese no doubt," added Artimus.

Other than those two particular items they found nothing else of importance in the items retrieved from the locker. Artimus helped the Sergeant transfer all the items to the evidence room adjacent to the weapons locker before the two of them returned to the computer to continue going through the memory card. After another hour of skimming through video files even Artimus was beginning to doubt the relevance of looking through it, there simply wasn't anything he assumed would cause Giannis to lose control.

It was soon fast approaching 0500hrs and they were still no closer to finding anything of relevance. As he sat there watching yet another pornographic movie playing at high speed Artimus began to feel the result of his distinct lack of sleep that night catching up with him. His eyes were becoming quite difficult to keep open and had developed a nasty habit of shutting on their own accord.

By now Artimus was ready to accept defeat. When the movie had finished playing at high speed he sighed and said to Morgan, "That's it! We'll continue this later. I can't stay up anymore. I still got a filmcrew to babysit so unless I get a few hours this morning I will kill one of them."

Sergeant Morgan was more than happy to agree. Artimus began to lean forward when another one of Sergeant Morgan's security detail, a Corporal named Mandrake, appeared with a clipboard in his hand.

"Excuse me Sergeant," he said to the Master-at-arms who seemed genuinely grateful to have someone break the routine he and Artimus had been going through over the past four hours. "We've finished taking witness statements of everyone who was on duty at around the time of the assault. The only thing worth mentioning was that Giannis was in the workshop for about fifteen minutes before Simtar went in. It was another ten minutes before the Chief found the two of them in there."

Having heard this Artimus uttered, "So that's twenty five minutes of his shift that Giannis has unaccounted for."

"A lot can be done in twenty five minutes," added Morgan who then seemed to realize something as he looked at his subordinate who hailed from Gemenon. "Mandrake, would you confirm something for us?"

Sergeant Morgan led the Corporal over to the evidence room. Curious, Artimus followed them to observe Morgan produce the small book taken from Giannis's locker. Mandrake looked at it before explaining, "Yea this is Old Gemonese. The structure of the sentences is non-linear like the current dialect so it would sound like_ To the store went I_ as opposed to _I went to the store_. This is a copy of the earlier Holy Scriptures before it is 'claimed' they were reworked in some parts."

"What do you mean 'claimed'?" asked Artimus.

"Well sir it is believed in some circles that over a thousand years ago the texts were altered to better benefit the religious leaders across the Twelve Colonies in an effort to increase the power of the religious establishment over the legal governments of the colonies. The parts they altered had things to do with how people should lead their lives and who was more important; the government or the temples. Naturally the temples came out on top. The basic stories of the exodus of the Thirteen tribes from Kobol remained untouched however. There are those who still worship what they consider to be the original texts handed down to us from the Gods and not the ones we worship with today which have been sullied by man – at least that's how they see it!"

Corporal Mandrake was clearly not a believer in this conspiracy theory.

"What kinds of groups believe this?" asked Morgan.

"There are several but the main ones are a group who call themselves Puritans," explained Mandrake. "They still speak Old Gemonese as their first language. It wouldn't surprise me if this was a Puritan book."

Artimus had a thought at that moment about Neveah, Giannis and the note. "These Puritans," he asked, "Are they quite secular or welcoming to others?"

"Sir, they will do anything short of bribing you with candy and pantyhose to join them. They believe their way of life is purer than anyone else's hence the name and they want to save, as they see it, the souls of others. A few years ago they had quite a following but their activities seemed to have fallen out of the spotlight recently."

Sergeant Morgan looked at Artimus before dismissing the Corporal to leave them to talk privately.

"It's certainly beginning to look like Giannis was involved in the note to Miss Ratliff," said Morgan. "Unfortunately it is still all purely circumstantial and it still doesn't link Giannis to the attack on Simtar."

"No it doesn't," said Artimus who slumped his back up against the wall to ease the pressure on his sock-less feet that were rubbing inside his shoes. "I think the best thing we can do now is wait until Giannis can answer a few questions. In the meantime I'm going to get some rack time."

"Yes sir," said Morgan who watched the XO turn and walk out of the evidence room back over to the desk where the computer was placed upon. Again Morgan had to bare witness to Artimus removing the memory card from the computer to ensure that the XO didn't alter any information before doing so. As he was about to eject the memory card Artimus noticed a small file on the screen called 'Nightstalker'. Suddenly he stopped and leaned back in the chair looking at it.

"Something wrong sir?" asked Morgan wondering why he wasn't yet able to end this tedious task.

"That file, Nightstalker," he said pointing at it. "Have we watched it yet?"

"No sir," said Morgan looking over the list he had compiled of files they had viewed so as not to watch the same one twice. "Why? Do you think it is that important?"

"It's probably nothing but Neveah Ratliff was in a movie called Daystalker," explained Artimus.

"Was it any good sir?" asked Morgan who was now struggling to feign further interest.

"Not really," said Artimus as he leaned forward and decided to access one more file. This time however he viewed it at normal speed. Morgan decided to make himself comfortable beside the XO as he readied himself for what clearly looked like yet another pornographic movie belonging to Specialist Simtar.

The camera that had made the recording was hand held as it shook quite a bit initially as though someone were struggling to operate it before finally it held a little more firm. The camera was inside quite a lavishly furnished living room that Artimus reasoned was probably the same size of his apartment! The camera began to move across the room until it stopped at a winding set of stairs and a man's voice could be heard saying, "Let's go and see my beautiful girlfriend."

"I'm sure I've heard that voice before," said Morgan almost accidentally.

They continued to watch. The house was indeed large as the camera ascended through the second floor and upto a third one which appeared to be dominated by the master bedroom. The outline of a woman sleeping under a thin white sheet could be seen on the bed. As the camera got closer the man's voice began calling out to her but not by name. Instead he addressed her by a host of cute nicknames one might give their loved one. Each time he spoke it seemed to taunt Morgan as he searched the back of his mind for where he had heard the voice before.

Finally the woman began to stir and turned over onto her back under the sheets. Both Artimus and Morgan's mouths opened in stunned disbelief. It was Neveah Ratliff.

"Paydirt!" uttered Artimus as they continued to watch the homemade movie. The man holding the camera pulled at the white sheet that was up around her neck and she playfully tried to stop him until finally it slipped out of her fingers to reveal that she had been sleeping in a Picon Panthers sports jersey.

"Of course," said Morgan. "I know whose voice that is now. It's Leon Delroy! He played Pyramid for the Panthers until he was sold to the Scorpions last season."

Artimus recalled that Neveah had talked about her relationship with Delroy during their dinner together. The break up had been quite messy to say the least. The two of them continued to watch. What happened next disgusted Artimus. The playful home movie turned into what could only be described as bad pornographic movie. The video depicted a whole series of sexual acts for a period of twelve minutes or so and with each passing minute more and more of the respect he had developed for her following their dinner began to whither away until by the end of the film he once again considered her to be nothing more than an unscrupulous self obsessed hussy. It was a bitter disappointment for him to have to endure.

When the film stopped Artimus felt slightly hollow inside. He was disgusted but above all he was disappointed. He thought that she might have been different to some of the others in her profession but the truth was that she wasn't. She was exactly the same as all those other starlets desperate to hold onto their stardom. The only difference was that she was wrapped up in a bow of philosophical conversation but that just made it worse. It seemed to make the whole evening he had spent with her feel like just another scene in a bad movie.

Suddenly it came to him. If he was feeling like this over a plutonic encounter then how would Giannis have felt if he had seen this? If he was a Puritan and had developed an obsession for Neveah then seeing this video might have been enough to drive him crazy and lash out in anger at Simtar for showing him it. It was still a theory and until they could confront Giannis about it that's all it was. The positive side was they had a confirmed motive for Giannis and that would go a long way to figuring out what transpired in the workshop.

The intercom handset beside the desk suddenly buzzed. Morgan reached over and picked it up off the wall. "Master-at-arms…Yes sir he is…Yes sir." Morgan replaced the handset on the wall and turned to Artimus. "Sir the Commander wants to see you in his quarters as soon as possible."

"Alright," said Artimus. "I'll let him know what we got so far. In the meantime let's keep a lid on this until we know more. We got that director onboard just itching for some publicity for his movie."

"Of course sir," said Morgan. In truth Artimus knew he could rely on the Sergeant's discretion but he felt it best to always reinforce the situation with his own orders if only for the sake of his own neck.

* * *

**Commander Hawker's Quarters  
A few minutes later**

Artimus entered the Commander's quarters after knocking in his usual and quite distinctive way only to find the Commander was not alone. Sitting in one of the two seats infront of his desk was Dr Ellen Langstrome the most senior member of the civilian law enforcement and investigation team aboard Cerberus. She was in her early fifties with dark black hair and cold and emotionless facial features that made it easy to understand why she had earned the unflattering nickname 'The Iron Lady'.

Behind the cold exterior there lurked a truly brilliant and logical mind. She was undoubtedly one of the topmost authorities in the fields of criminal psychology and forensic sciences. She'd had many books published during her thirty years in the job and had worked on many high profile cases including the apprehension of the master thief Marcellus Britt. She was the ideal person for the position she was in and yet neither Artimus nor Hawker truly warmed upto her in the whole time they had been aboard. She seemed to keep everyone at an arm's length preferring to have her relationships as strictly professional.

"Good morning Dr Langstrome," said Artimus. "Surprised to see you up this early?"

"Not by choice Colonel I can assure you," she replied.

"Take a seat Artimus," instructed Hawker indicating he had something to tell the Colonel. Artimus sat opposite Langstrome and faced his CO. Artimus could feel Langstrome's eyes examining him no doubt with an air of displeasure over his attire that he had simply thrown on during the night. "Artimus, I have decided to have Dr Langstrome and her team take over the investigation into the assault last night on the Hangar Deck."

"Sir?" asked Artimus wanting to make sure he understood correctly. Unfortunately he had. "But sir this is an internal issue to be dealt with by military means. I would be happy for Dr Langstrome's team to assist of course."

"On any other Battlestar you would of course be correct," said Hawker who then continued, "but this isn't any other Battlestar. This is the Cerberus and federal law enforcement duties consume over seventy per cent of our time."

It was at this point that Dr Langstrome spoke up. "Given that this incident happened aboard a spacecraft operating in Leonisian space we do have a legal right to take over the investigation. Also, given the seriousness of the attack on Specialist Simtar the Commander feels that our expertise would benefit the investigation."

"You said you wanted to be certain that we got our man, Colonel," said Hawker. "This is the best way."

Artimus still wasn't convinced and it was with Hawker he was most annoyed with. Giannis was a crewmember of the Cerberus – the _Battlestar _Cerberus. To Artimus it felt like they were abandoning him. Even though he and Morgan had compiled a lot of evidence against him there was still that final link in the chain that was unaccounted for. They still did not know for certain that it was Giannis and they probably wouldn't know until he could answer questions. Would Langstrome's team go that little bit further to get a result or would they twist the evidence in someway and have him convicted in a civilian, as opposed to military court, when there was still a trace of doubt?

It was at this point that Artimus wished he had paid closer attention to the workings of the civilian crew during his time aboard. He had done what he had always been instructed to do which was keep the ship in working order and not interfere in Langstrome's investigations. Now that the investigation involved one of his own men he knew he was going to be keeping a close eye on this one.

Artimus spent the next ten minutes briefly going over what they had learned about Giannis, his apparent obsession with Neveah Ratliff and the video held on Simtar's media player. Without so much as a word of acknowledgement to Artimus for the work he and Morgan had put into their investigation during the night Langstrome simply got up out of her chair and dismissed herself leaving Artimus alone with Hawker.

Artimus was failing miserably at hiding his discontent for these new orders from Hawker. Somehow he felt like he was letting Giannis down. Everyone deserves a fair hearing including Giannis even if he did attack Simtar. The question that now burned on his mind was would Giannis get a fair hearing with Langstrome's team but deep down he began to suspect that it probably had more to do with the fact that he hated letting things go. He was something of a control freak when it came to his duties as XO.

Either way the atmosphere between him and Hawker had grown tense. Hawker knew that Artimus was a good soldier and would obey the order even if he disagreed with it but in this instance things were all the more worse for Hawker since he had more news for Artimus Bowman.

"Artimus," said Hawker softly. Artimus prepared for some long winded speech from Hawker about how he was doing the right thing and that one aspect of command is to know when to let go. He had heard it before and was in no mood to hear it again but nevertheless he listened. What came next he was never expecting. "There was another reason I wanted you to give up leading the investigation even though it is your remit as XO. About an hour ago I received a priority message for you from Caprica." Hawker coughed to clear his throat before continuing. Artimus took this as a bad sign. "One of the hardest things about command is having to be the bearer of bad news. It is my sincerest regret to inform you that your grandfather passed away last night. I'm sorry."

Artimus suddenly felt the room spinning wildly. Archibald Bowman was more than a grandfather to Artimus. He effectively was his father since he was thirteen years old and Hawker knew this. As the news seemed to reverberate around his mind over and over again Artimus Bowman's face began to twist as an aching pain formed in his chest. He didn't know if he wanted to cry bitterly or thump his fist against the wall until he broke every single bone in his hand. He had experienced a lot of heartache in his life but nothing compared to what he felt now. Nevertheless he composed himself magnificently and politely said, "Thank you for telling me, sir."

"You are of course relieved of duty for the time being on compassionate grounds. I will get Lt Felton to take over looking after our guests. Why don't you go to your quarters and give your wife a call? I'm sure she'll want to hear from you."

"Yes sir," said Artimus almost breathlessly. "Thank you."

* * *

The corridors of the Cerberus seemed to suddenly go on forever. No matter how many steps he had taken it still felt as though hours had passed in the time it took him to get to his quarters. Once there he picked up the intercom handset and spoke with Petty Officer Teuton in the CIC. A few moments later he heard a dial tone ring several times before someone answered. It was Brooke.

"H-Hello," she said almost in whimper. Artimus tried to speak but couldn't. Again she repeated, "Hello?"

"Brooke," said Artimus finally. All he heard from the other end of the line was his wife starting to cry. That was all he could take. Still holding the handset to his head, his back slumped against the wall and slid down it until he was on the floor.


	5. Chapter 5

**Artimus Bowman's Quarters**  
**Six Hours Later**

Artimus couldn't be sure at what point he had fallen asleep after speaking with his wife. All he knew was that he had awoken on the floor of his quarters still leaning against the wall underneath the telephone handset that sat perched above his head. After he had hung up the phone he simply sat in that one spot until his eyelids fell shut of their own accord and he nodded off. He leaned forward to allow his eyes a better view in order to look up at the clock on his wall and saw that the time was now 1315hrs. His head then fell backwards until it made contact with the wall once more as he began to search his mind for some sort of order to the chaos that was taking place inside him. He didn't know how to behave at this point. His emotional state was in turmoil but externally he kept it buried beneath layers of self control.

Suddenly his body began to ache from having stayed in the same position on the cold floor for several hours. He lifted himself up, something that caused his body to complain even more, before he rather awkwardly walked over to his desk where he pulled out a chair and sat down on it. For the first time since Hawker had given him the tragic news that morning Artimus began to wonder what he was going to do from here on out now that his grandfather was no longer with him. Archibald Bowman had always been a source of inspiration to Artimus. He always seemed to have the right answers whenever Artimus needed them. Now that he was gone Artimus felt as though he were a child lost in the big city crying out for his parents to come and find him. It was an unsettling experience but one he knew he would have to get over. Being so far away from home only served to reinforce his loneliness at this painful time. Perhaps he would feel better once he was back home in Delphi with Brooke?

There came a gentle knock on his hatch. Surprised by the visitor on the other side announcing themselves this way Artimus seemed to whip his head in the direction of the hatch as the person knocked again. He quickly composed himself before calling out, "Enter!"

The round handle swung around its maximum rotation siganlled by a loud clicking sound before the horizontal handle slid sideways. The hatch swung open and Artimus was confronted with what appeared to be a ghost! It was a woman in a Cylon War-era flightsuit. On her left arm was a Raptor patch, on her right was the seal of the Battlestar Achilles. Of course it wasn't a real ghost. It was in fact Neveah Ratliff still in costume from having just finished filming a scene on the Hangar Deck.

She slowly stepped inside before closing the hatch behind her. As she did so Artimus stood up to meet her half way across the room.

"Miss Ratliff, is everything ok?" he asked maintaining his decorum in front of his visitor. She didn't respond. She simply walked upto him and threw her arms around his neck, burying her head into his shoulder. Artimus felt enormously confused and extremely uncomfortable. He was not used to such displays of affection especially from people he hardly knew.

"I heard about your grandfather," she explained. She stepped back and looked up at him before asking, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Uh...No," he stuttered still unsure of how to respond to her while at the same time wondering why people ask such a pointless question at times like this. What could anyone do that could truly make him feel better about the turth of the matter. Still he was gratious about the offer. "Thank you but no."

"Would you like to talk for a little bit?" she then asked. "We've stopped filming for lunch so I've got a half an hour if you'd like?"

"Uh, that's very kind of you but I wouldn't want to keep you from your dinner."

"It's ok," she persisted. "I wasn't really hungry anyway. Too much on my mind."

Artimus quickly realized that 'no' was not going to be an answer for her and so he surrendered before offering her the same seat she had taken the other night when they had dinner together. That night seemed to have happened years ago now given the events of the past eighteen hours.

He sat silently opposite her for a few moments looking at her as the images he had seen in that video of her still lingered in his mind. With them came an air of bitter disappointment that he found difficult to seperate from the way he engaged with her at this moment. His opinion of her had been heavily tainted.

"How's the filming going?" he asked forcing an air civility as he did so.

"It's coming along slowly," she explained. "Making movies is never as glamorous as it appears. To be honest I'm getting quite frustrated with this one. Goldstein is difficult to work with at best."

"If he's so difficult then why do you do it?" asked Artimus whose eyes were staring blankly at a spot on the corner of the table before looking back up at her to wait for the answer.

"He's one of the best in the business," she explained in a way that seemed surprised that he didn't know this. "He's hardly what you'd call an artistic director but he knows how to make a movie that sells."

"Ah so that's what it all comes down to in the end is it? Money?" Artimus hadn't intended it to but his voice came across as being quite aggressive and disapproving. It caught Neveah off guard somewhat and she recoiled at his words.

"Um...I guess," she said feeling compelled to answer him. Artimus saw how she had reacted to his question and felt a little embarrassed although he didn't do anything to rectify it. "You know, when I first started acting when I was in my teens I felt like I was making art. I quickly learned that art is all very well but when its not backed up by the cubits then its just another pretty idea. You have to learn to play the game before you can do what you always wanted to do in the first place. That's why it's taken me this long to get my butt into the producer's chair with this movie. I don't want to be rememebered as just another pretty face infront of the camera. I want to be respected for my work."

"Respected?" repeated Artimus who felt anything but respect for her after seeing those images of her. "From whom may I ask?"

"I don't know," she replied sensing a degree of hostility being directed at her although she wasn't sure why. "People in general I suppose. Isn't that what we all want?" Artimus thought about it before nodding silently and slowly in an almost reluctant fashion. "What about you? What does Colonel Artimus Bowman want from this life? Your own Battlestar perhaps or do you have your sights set higher? Admiral Bowman; has a nice ring to it don't you think?"

Artimus smirked slightly before answering, "No, no not me. I never saw myself as being one of the brass. Now my friend Scott, I knew he would be an Admiral from the day I met him. Long story but suffice it to say he had the Admiralty in his blood. He had all the right connections. Knew who to trust and who not to. I guess you could say he knows how to play the game. Now he's got himself a cushy assignment on Picon with the rank of Rear Admiral and he's the same age as me." Artimus thought for a moment before continuing, "I never wanted anything like that. All I wanted to do was fly Raptors. I never really wanted to do anything else. To be honest I was a little reluctant to accept this position but If I had stayed flying Raptors my career would soon come to nought. I guess I always wanted to be just one of the guys. I never wanted to be in the limelight so to speak. I just wanted to remain anonomous. I suppose that's kind of hard for an actress to understand."

"Oh on the contrary I can totally relate to that. Do you know I've had people walk upto to me in the toilets asking me for my autograph. Sometimes I haven't even washed my hands yet! It's gotten to the point now where I can't go anywhere without being recognised. Don't get me wrong or anything, I do like it sometimes. It makes me feel...special."

"Really?" asked Artimus curious about her choice of words. "Let me ask you this; special to whom? Yourself or other people?"

This was the second time he had attacked her motivation for doing things and she was picking up on it.

"I suppose it's a little of both," said Neveah whose voice betrayed her own uncertainty. "But it does make me feel good to know that people like me. Nobody likes to be hated and not many people like to feel anonomous. You're lucky to have that kind of confidence."

"Yea, well I don't need other people to like me in order to feel good about myself."

"What about your wife?" asked Neveah quickly, thinking she was finding a fatal flaw in his argument.

"That's different."

She smiled. "In what way?"

"Brooke makes me feel alive even by the simplest of things that she does. I can sit with her on the sofa in our apartment watching tv all night and feel the energy flowing around us. It's almost tangible like its a blanket that swirls around us. I feel complete when I'm with her and that's what makes me feel good."

Artimus had been so consumed by trying to describe how he felt when he was with his wife that only when he was done did he see the look of dismay on her face as she listened.

"You're very lucky to be able to experience that," she said. "I dont think I've ever experienced anything quite that powerful. Or ever will. Most of the guys I've been out with have either been egotistical jerks or have felt threatened by my success."

"Which was Leon Delroy?" he asked almost without thinking.

"He was the former," she explained after a short not-so-funny laugh. "I think I was just some sort of trophy for him. Just another of his conquests. He hurt me in ways I didn't think I could be hurt. Oh it wasn't physical or anything like that. He made me be someone I'm not. Even though I'm an actress who pretends to be other people for a living I am still Neveah Ratliff at the end of the day and I don't think he liked that so whenever I was around him I always used to pretened like I was a character from one of my films. In the end I don't think he ever truly got to meet the real me but by playing the roles he wanted me to play he made me do things that I, Nev, would never do. If that makes sense to you?"

"Like make a pornographic video?" asked Artimus who suspected that she was edging closer to the subject on her own thus opening the door for him to approach that delicate subject. She looked away from him momentarily. At first he suspected it was embarassment but as she looked back up at him he saw that it was closer to a deep shame.

"Yes," she replied not having any intention of denying it. "You've seen it?"

"I have," said Artimus. "Did you hear about the assault that took place on the Hangar Deck last night?" She nodded wondering what that attack had to do with her home made pornographic movie? "We believe that the Specialist was attacked in an effort to steal his hand held media player but it was destroyed during the course of the assailant's getaway. We accessed its memory in case there was something on it that might offer us a clue as to who or why he was attacked and that's when I saw it. It was stored on the memory."

Artimus decided to keep quiet about the possible link between Aldo and the mysterious note Neveah had received. The investigation was now out of his hands and it would have been inappropriate for him to draw any further conclusions on the matter or offer any suggestions.

"Can I ask what you thought when you saw it?" she uttered almost daring herself to do so as if she were afraid of the answer.

"You want the truth?" he replied initially to which she answered with a simpe nod. "I was disappointed. I couldn't believe that you would do something like that after the conversation we had at dinner. Even though I disagreed with what you were saying I had enormous respect for you because you believed it and weren't afraid to say so. I saw something-"

"Special?" she interjected regretfully.

"Yea, but then it just flew right out the air lock. I'm sorry if that feels cold to you but that's the truth."

"Guess I do need saving afterall," she said off handedly referring to the note she had received the day before. Artiumus didn't comment. He simply listened as she tried to explain her actions. Again she repeated the fact that when she was with Delroy she was always playing another person and not the 'real' Neveah. She kept telling him that the 'real' Neveah would never do something like that but Artimus was having trouble distinguishing between the two. As he watched her desperate efforts to explain herself he could see that she wanted his respect ever so badly. She clearly wasn't used to being disliked and it was a bitter pill for her to swallow.

As she went on to explain that Delroy released the video into the public domain as a way of getting back at her for finally leaving him Artimus did start to feel some sympathy for her but it was overshadowed by the thoughts that were already circling his mind on the subject. After several minutes she could see that she wasn't getting through to him and she quite painfully accepted that she probably wouldn't have his respect ever again. The damage had been done and it appeared irrepairable.

Neveah didn't want things to end the way they were although as the end of her lunch break beckoned she began to realize that there was a distinct possibilty it would. With just five minutes to go they were spared from this possible conclusion to their meeting by another knock on his hatch.

Hearing the knocks Neveah said, "Well, I should probably get back. Goodbye Colonel."

"Good bye," he said as he opened the hatch for Neveah to leave and to see who was knocking. As the hatch swung open again he found Nurse Kalidas, the medic responsible for attending to Aldo following the attack on Simtar, waiting patiently on the other side.

"Oh I'm sorry," said Kalidas quite sheepishly at the sight of Neveah leaving the XO's quarters. "I didn't mean to interrupt...Uh."

"It's ok," said Neveah. "I was just leaving anyway." She then turned back towards Artimus and repeated, "Once again Colonel, you have my condolences for your recent loss."

"Thank you," said Artimus as she began to walk away. Although he knew he was mostly to blame he felt saddened by the loss of the spark he had developed with Neveah since her arrival aboard Cerberus. As he stood there watching her round the corner and out of sight he began to wish he had never seen that video. As the old saying went; ignorance is bliss.

"Your recent loss, sir?" asked a confused Kalidas after Neveah had left them.

"I found out my grandfather passed away this morning. I've been temporarily relieved of duty on compassionate grounds."

"Oh!" gasped Kalidas. "I'm sorry. I had no idea. In that case please forgive me for the intrusion. I wont bother you any further."

She tried to leave but Artimus persisted if only to keep his thoughts occupied from pondering on his situation. "Wait, is there something I could do for you? I'd be happy to help if I can."

"Well, sir," she stuttered wondering whether or not she should bring what she thought was a trivial matter to his attention but when she saw that he was genuinely interested she decided to explain why she had come to him. "Specialist Giannis is now under the care of the civilian department which includes his medical requirements."

"Go on!" said Artimus.

"Well I was the first medic to attend to him after the incident down on the Hangar Deck therefore while he was in military custody he was my responsibility. However, when Commander Hawker released him into Doctor Langstrom's custody he became her team's responsibility. Well he hasn't been signed off by our medical staff so technically he is still under my own and the Chief Medical Officer's care. When I tried to rectify this with her administrative staff I just got blanked by them so I thought I'd come to you to help clear it up."

Artimus' mind felt burned by her long winded explanation. One of the things he truly hated in this universe was bureacracy since it gave the false impression that everything has its place and that life could be dictated using some kind of insanely complicated formula. He rubbed his right hand across his head as he pondered what he should do. Under normal circumstances he would have been glad to have had the excuse to avoid such a mundane task but feeling a little underutilised since being relieved of duty he decided that he would look into it.

With Kalidas waiting outside Artimus changed into his uniform minus his jacket. Just going in his grey shirt and pull over tank top helped remind him that he was supposed to be off duty. It was a subconscious acknowledgement to his current status that he felt he had to oblige. Once ready he stepped out of his quarters and with Kalidas in tow made his way to the port side civilian section.

* * *

**Civilian Law Enforcement Section  
Port Side Entry Hatch**

The civilian departments operated in two large sections of the Cerberus that were scabbed into the hull within the chasms that used to be occupied by the Flight Pods when they retracted for a faster-than-light jump. The newer metal used in their construction didn't have the worn look of the rest of the almost fifty-year old Battlestar thus making it easy to spot where the orginal Battlestar ended and the new sections began. Housed in the civilian sections were a vast array of laboratories, offices, living quarters (that were considered superior to the ones the military crew occupied) and an extensive medical bay that rivalled some of the finest hospitals within the Twelve Colonies. All of these features served to allow the Cerberus to carry out its primary remit of law enforcement and crisis management.

Artimus and Kalidas approached the main entrance to the port side section occupied by Dr Langstrom's department. The dull grey and blue corridors of the Battlestar suddenly stopped at a pair of smoked glass doors embedded into a white painted wall. As they approached them the two doors automatically slid open to reveal what Artimus always likened to a hospital lobby. There was a long desk protruding out from the adjacent wall that curved around a workstation occupied by a Secretary sitting in a swivel chair.

The Secretary's name was Jasmine Camry, a dark haired Libran woman in her early twenties who wore a business-like grey suit. Upon seeing Artimus and Kalidas walk through the doors she almost jumped to her feet as if startled by their arrival.

"Good morning, Colonel," she said to Artimus as he walked right up to the desk with Kalidas. "I wasn't aware of you visiting us today?"

"I wasn't expecting to be here either but there is an administrative matter that needs sorting out," explained Artimus who still wasn't sure why he had agreed to help Kalidas with this.

"Oh! Such as?" asked Camry.

"You had a prisoner transferred over from our custody ths morning; Aldo Giannis. He hasn't been signed off from our sickbay's care. We need someone to come up and give us an autograph."

"Uh...Actually," said Kalidas speaking up. "I need to see Giannis before I can sign him off properly."

Artimus wasn't expecting her to have to examine him again. He had thought this would be a simple sign-and-go but since he was already committed he had to see it through now.

"Alright then," he sighed. "Where is he being held at the moment please?"

"I'm afraid I'm not authorised to tell you that information," explained Camry almost hesitantly.

"Excuse me?" said Artimus.

"I am not authorised to reveal that information to you at the present time," she again repeated.

"And just what does that mean?"

"Well, I've been informed that you are currently relieved of duty on compassionate grounds and therefore you have no business here," she explained bluntly but with a slightly apologetic tone.

"I am still the Executive Officer of this ship," persisted Artimus who was now getting agitated with her.

"Regardless, sir, I'm sorry but I cannot authorize entry for you at this time."

Artimus turned to look back at Kalidas, his face filled with disbelief. While the civilian crew often made life awkward for him he had never been refused entry to this part of the ship before and it didn't make sense to him why he should be refused now regardless of his personal situation and especially over something as trivial as a bit of paperwork. He turned back to Camry ready to launch a full verbal attack on the young woman.

"Listen!" he said firmly. "Will you get on the phone please and call Langstrome for me. I'd like to have a word."

"I'm afraid she's quite busy at the mo-"

"Too busy to answer a phonecall?" shot Artimus. Camry nodded a roundabout sort of way. "Fine, get me whoever has been put in charge of the investigation."

Suddenly a voice called out from the door on the opposite side of the room. "That would be me, Colonel."

Artimus looked over to find Agent Carlos Tybelle was now standing beside the counter. Tybelle was a Tauron with small beady eyes that sat deep in his skull almost obscured by his low facial features giving him an insidious and intimidating look. He stood there looking at Artimus daring him to make such an aggressive move on him as he had done with Camry. Artimus was not to be intimidated however. He hated Tybelle and was always eager for a confrontation with the man if only to relax some of the tension that existed between them.

"Then perhaps _you_ can help me?" said Artimus raising himself to his full height. "Your people took Giannis into custody without signing the proper paperwork. I've just come down here with Miss Kalidas to rectify this problem."

"I didn't know that an XO would be so concerned with incomplete paperwork," jeered Tybelle.

"Well ninety per cent of my job is bureacratic in nature so here I am."

"Well I could sign it for you," suggested Tybelle who walked up closer towards them expecting to have the paperwork handed to him.

"It's not that simple," interjected Artimus. "We actually need to see him first."

"I'm afraid that's impossible at this time. Aldo Giannis is currently writing out his confession of murder."

"Murder!" gasped Artimus. He looked back at Kalidas who seemed surprised.

"I'm sorry sir," said Kalidas nervously. "I thought you knew. Specialist Simtar died of his injuries this morning."

"No I didn't," uttered Artimus regretfully. He then turned back to Tybelle. "And he has confessed to the crime?"

"He is writing up his confession as we speak," replied Tybelle. His words didn't rest well with Artimus.

"But he _has_ already confessed to the crime?"

Tybelle hesitated before answering, "We have had an informal confession, yes."

"An informal confession?" said Artimus wondering just what the hell that was supposed to mean. "Right," launched Artimus. "This is not a request, this is a demand. You will show me to Giannis immediately. You are civilian crew aboard a military vessel and as such you still operate under our authority. If you refuse this demand I will have Marines restrain you in our brig. Do I make myself clear?" Tybelle seemed to smirk in amusement. Artimus stepped up closer to him, their eyes locking into a silent confrontation which Artimus clearly won. "Don't think for a second I am joking, Tybelle. Go ahead and try me!"

It was at that point that Tybelle lost his nerve. He seemed to struggle to keep his arrogant smirk that was subsequently beginning to faulter. Realizing that he had lost this war of words he quickly tried to save face. He ran his hand down his tie in effort to straighten it out if only to give his nervous hands something to do and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Well I certainly don't fancy going in your brig," he said to Artimus in a joking sort of way although it was clear to even the most amateur card player that he was trying to swallow his apprehension and loathing for Artimus Bowman. "This way, Colonel." Tybelle turned around to start leading him to where Giannis was being held.

"And Nurse Kalidas too," added Artimus quickly signalling to the young woman to follow them. Tybelle didn't say anything as he held the door open for them. After Artimus and Kalidas stepped through Tybelle looked at Camry and mimicked using a phone while mouthing the name 'Langstrom'. She nodded and quickly picked up her telephone before hitting one of the speed dial buttions across the top.

Tybelle stepped through the door and walked out in front of them. Both Artimus and Kalidas follow quickly behind him. The civilian sections of the ship looked nothing like the rest of the Battlestar. Instead of the elongated corridors typical of Battlestars from the Cylon War-era that were designed that way to move quipment quikly and easily through the ship the corridors here were hexagonal in shape with each panel an equal length and angle in relation to the adjacent one. The panels themselves were a mix of light blue and grey colours and the floor was carpetted with a thick deep blue material that always felt odd under Artimus' feet that were used to the metal deck plates of the rest of Cerberus.

As they walked passed the Number Three Scenes-of-Crime Lab Artimus noticed that he had almost overtaken Tybelle several times already. It was clear that Tybelle was dragging his feet so as to try and slow them down. Artimus knew there was no point in further confrontation so he let Tybelle play it his way for the time being.

"So Giannis just confessed did he?" asked Artimus.

"Yes, that's about the sum of it," replied Tybelle not looking back at the Colonel.

"Now see that's odd because when we tried questioning him earlier he was almost totally catatonic," pressed Artimus. Kalidas looked on nervously as if expecting them to start brawling here in the corridor. She didn't know what to expect from them at this point. What she did know however was that if that question had been directed at her then she would have taken it as Colonel Bowman almost implying that the confession Giannis was giving was made under duress or even faked.

"It's surprizing what a can of Aquarius Cola, an Aurora bar and the realization that you killed one of your friends can do to a guilty man," explained Tybelle.

"It sounds like you're treating him well?" asked Artimus.

"Why wouldn't we?" replied Tybelle. "He may have killed a man but he still has his rights."

"Glad to hear it," said Artimus which caused Tybelle to wince bitterly.

"Here we are," explained Tybelle somewhat reluctantly as they reached a door with the words 'Interrogation Room 7' engraved onto a placard placed at face height. Clearly he hadn't intended getting this far with them. Artimus assumed he had expected to have been stopped by now perhaps by Langstrom but here they were about to walk in on Giannis writing his confession. Tybelle took out his ID keycard from his jacket pocket and slid it down the reader on the side if the door. A small light on the face of the reader turned from red to green and a clicking sound signalled it was unlocked. Tybelle pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"My Gods!" he gasped.

Artimus quickly followed Tybelle inside to see what had happened. There was Aldo Giannis slumped down in a chair sat just behind the desk placed in the middle of the room. His wrists had been slashed open and his arms dangled lifelessly by the side of him hovering over a steadily increasing pool of blood that surrounded the chair. By his feet was a piece of an aluminium can that Giannis had tore into razor sharp edge in order to cut his wrists. The blood that had landed upon only just obscured the logo of the Aquarius Cola company.

"Oh frak!" shot Artimus as he burst into the room and over towards the body. Kalidas had now entered the room and instinctively threw her hands up to her face in horror at the sight before. When she saw Artimus lifting up Giannis' head hoping for a response she quickly rushed in to offer her expert help in the hope that there might be a chance to save him. It was to no avail. The young man's head refused to stay upright of its own accord and his eyes stayed shut depsite Artimus bellowing in his ears and at one point slapping him across the face to try and get a response.

"He's dead, sir," uttered Kalidas as she took a closer look at him. The colour had drained from Giannis' body and this coupled with the amount of blood on the floor told Kalidas that he was now walking with the Gods. As respectfully as he could Artimus released his hold on the body and Giannis returned to the slumped over position they had found him in. Kalidas stood up and turned away from him unable to look at the dead young man any longer.

Artimus suddenly noticed the piece of paper on the table in front of Giannis. He walked over to it and leaned down to pick it up.

"Hey!" said Tybelle who still stood by the door. "That's evidence. Leave it there!"

Suddenly, Dr. Langstrom and Commander Hawker appeared at the entrance. Expecting to find themselves locked in a verbal slugging match they were both brought to silence at the horrific sight.

Artimus didn't listen to Tybelle. He could see what was written on the piece of paper but he had to pick it up and take a closer look to satisfy the nagging feeling that was tingling down his spine.

"Colonel Bowman!" declared Langstrom angrily. "Please show some professionalism and return that evdience to the desk."

"Artimus; what is it?" asked Hawker who saw the look on his XO's face as he stared down at the paper. Artimus didn't answer either of them. Instead he carried the paper over to Tybelle who was still stood by the door like a Deer caught in a car's headlights. Artimus grabbed Tybelle by the collar of his jacket and pulled him forward thrusting the piece of paper into his hands.

"Here!" he snarled at Tybelle. "Read it! Go on, frakking read it!"

Artimus Bowman stormed out of the room, none of them daring to stop him as he did so, leaving the four of them with Giannis' body. Tybelle held the piece of paper out in front of him and he stared deeply at it. He recognized it as the piece of paper he had given Giannis to write out his confession on.

"Well?" asked Hawker. "What does it say?"

Tybelle tried to tell them but couldn't speak. Shame had turned him mute so instead he turned it over to show them.

There in big capital letters were the words 'I'm innocent'.


	6. Chapter 6

**Artimus Bowman's Quarters  
An Hour Later**

"When are you coming home?" The voice on the other end of the line indicated that Brooke Bowman had been crying for some time before speaking with her husband. Although she had only known Archibald Bowman for five years the pain of his death had struck her as hard as though he were her own grandfather. Both of Artimus Bowman's grandparents had a deep fondness for Brooke and it was something he was forever grateful for.

"Hawker is kicking me off Cerberus within the hour," mumbled Artimus.

"Good," she replied as she cleared her coarse sounding throat. "You need to be here."

"How is Gran holding up?" he asked.

"Better than everyone expected. Even though she knew this was coming I don't think it's really hit home with her yet."

"Ah right," he uttered before falling silent. Brooke picked up on this and knew that it was a sign that he didn't want to talk. Being his wife she knew that he was only ever like this when there was something occupying his mind. She initially assumed it was the fact that he would be returning home to tend to his grandfather's funeral arrangements but as she talked to him she felt it was something more but she couldn't quite place what. In the past five or so minutes that they had spoken over the wireless network he had failed to mention anything about Giannis. He simply didn't want to talk about it. He had done enough of that with Hawker and Langstrome after discovering the young crewman's body.

"It's ok for you to talk to me," she said to reassure him in an effort to open up.

"I'm sorry," he replied realizing she was in pain also over the death in the family. "It's just..." He reached inside and looked for an answer to give her. Doing so made him realize something that no man likes to admit. "I feel like I'm reaching my limit, like I'm about to break under the strain. It's not just Granddad it's everything that's happening around me. It just feels like I've let go of the rope for just a few seconds and now I'm trying desperately to reach for it again and I can't. I just can't."

"This is why you need to come home. It's ok for you to let go sometimes. Let someone else deal with it. Hell, let Hawker worry about it. It's his frakking ship. You need to be with us, with me, so I can take care of you. You're only Human, Artimus."

As he listened to her he felt like she didn't quite understand what he was going through. It was his own fault really for not telling her about Giannis. He simply didn't want to speak to her about it although for the sake of all the Gods he didn't know why. He thought it wasn't fair on her to have to listen to it given her own pain but another part of him felt like he was responsible for Aldo Giannis' suicide. The crucial point that was replaying in his mind was when Hawker transferred the investigation on Simtar's assault to Langstrome's team because of Artimus' grandfather's death. Had he put his personal feelings aside and kept on investigating it himself then maybe Giannis would have still been alive? That was clutching at straws and he knew that as well.

The truth of the matter was that Artimus Bowman seemed determined to punish himself for not being there when his grandfather died. He had done so from the moment Hawker had given him the news. Everything he had done since then was an effort to either forget what was happening or to hurt himself in some way.

They continued to make idle conversation whilst dancing around the real issue for several more minutes before they said their good byes sealed by "I love you." Having hung up the telephone handset he walked back over to his bunk where an opened sports bag sat on top of his mattress. He had been busy packing away a few things before Brooke had called and as he sat next to it he found himself uninterested in continuing. Instead he rubbed the tiredness that seemed to have made a permanent home in his eyes while he pondered what to do in the next hour before he left the ship.

The silence quickly became unbearable. He stood up and walked over to a set of drawers in the corner of his quarters. He opened the top drawer and reached in for a small music player he had received as a gift from Lacey Tolan on his last birthday. Artimus was never one for fancy new convenience gadgets and Lacey had to show him how to use it properly including how to store music on its internal memory. He placed the music player on the table and began to tap in the details of the song he wanted to hear into the small menu screen on the side.

He sat in the chair as the familiar sound of Aerilon themed country music began to play. It was a slow and melancholy filled song he first heard as a teenager when he went to live with his grandparents after running away from home to escape his abusive father. After a short harmonica solo the room filled with the lyrics of the song.

_Everybody knows where you go when the sun goes down.  
I think you only live to see the lights of town.  
I wasted my time when I would try, try, try.  
When the lights have lost their glow, you're gonna cry, cry, cry_

Artimus shut his eyes and listened to the words as he pictured the tragic story of the song in his mind only to find his own life reflected in the lyrics.

* * *

**Senior Movie Crew/Cast Quarters **

Neveah Ratliff had returned to her and her colleague's bunkroom which was guarded by a rather bored looking Marine sentry walking up and down the corridor after spending a mammoth session in the Cerberus gymnasium. She had hoped to work off the fact that the video she had tried to forgot so much had come back to haunt her yet again. Every couple of months or so it seemed to pop up one way or another be it in a conversation with her publicist or on some television show that reveled in celebrity scandal. It felt like a tumor that no matter how many times it was removed kept coming back.

This time had been made all the more unpleasant given the effect it had on Artimus Bowman's opinion of her. It was not that she was infatuated with him although she could see why women would find him attractive but rather it was that the two of them had developed a mutual respect for one another and she felt confident enough around him to be the woman she wanted to be. That was something she had craved so desperately for so long and to have it snatched away again was a bitter pill to swallow. She hoped that they could reconcile things before he left the ship. She just wanted to say good bye to him on good terms.

She planned to go see him after having gotten changed out of her tight fitting track suit, something that had caused a stir amongst the crew in the gym. Normally she didn't mind men gawking at her; she'd had to become used to it since working in show business but today had been different and only served to remind her of why she was working so hard. Men didn't respect her for who she was and she was becoming tired of pretending to be someone else for other people. Ever since she was small and her father pushed her into acting she felt like she was a puppet who could become anyone as long as the right string was pulled.

She checked the time on her watch and saw that it was still quite early and she therefore assumed she would have time to go over some of her lines she would be filming during the next day. She took out the copy of the script she kept in her locker and sat on her bunk with the script in one hand and a pencil in the other. She mentally allocated twenty five minutes for reading before she would go and see Artimus Bowman.

Putting her feet up on her bunk she pulled the privacy curtain across and began going over her script making notes that she would like to bring up with Goldstein if she got the chance; she had always been an optimist. This movie had a different feel to it than 'Operation Raptor Talon' and her mind began to drift off to what it must have been like during the Cylon War, in particular, what those people on the Achilles felt when their ship had been boarded and the commanding officer decided the only way to keep the other ships of the fleet safe was to do a blind jump. Her mind conjured up several scenarios; the one that she liked the best was that the Achilles found a habitable world and the crew settled there to start a new life. Maybe that was more of a romantic notion than anything feasible but deep down she was a sucker for a happy ending.

She jumped when the privacy curtain to her bunk was pulled away, revealing none other than Argus Johansson. The handsome actor was almost as popular with the magazines as she was but unlike her he absolutely loved it. They had been a couple for a short time six years earlier and perhaps they would have stayed a couple longer if fate had not intervened.

It all started with her mother's unfortunate death. Brianna Ratliff had fallen asleep at the wheel and sent her car crashing into a utility pole. From what the medical examiner had told the family, she had been killed on impact when she was thrown from the vehicle. This world shattering news hit Neveah hard while at the same time Argus decided to restart his long-term fling with actress Cassandra Bennett. Her and Cassandra were never on the best of terms and she felt that had something to do with her seducing Argus.

"I just wanted you to know that the FTL drive is offline," Argus declared as he sat down beside her reaching out to try and massage Neveah's shoulder. "Not to mention that the ship is breaking apart and all that. I know in these last moments we should be together and make the most of the time we have left."

Neveah looked at him, brushing his hand away in the process and noticing that he was wearing a pair of jeans but no shirt, "I see you've managed to get your shirt off, as usual."

"Nev, come on you know you can't stay mad at me forever. Remember that great time we had on 'Never the Bride' and 'Flip of the Coin'?" Argus tried to paste a faux-smile on his face, hoping he could tug at her heart strings and at least get a smile out of her but Neveah was too good an actress to fall for it. This whole time on Cerberus and back on the Athena she had kept things professional but it became clear she would not go out of her way to have anything to do with him.

Neveah fixed him with a stern look and simply said, "Argus, it was cute back before I knew how you really were." Before he could respond she had nudged him off her bunk before yanking the privacy curtain back across.

"Oh that's cold," he protested from the other end of the curtain. "You got to get over this, Nev. You need help."

Neveah's heart seemed to stammer in her chest as she heard him say those words. They were words she had been hearing time and time again recently and while at first she largely ignored them they were now unsettling to say the least but to hear Argus say them out loud! An unhappy thought came to the front of her mind - what if Argus is the one that had put that note in her bunk? He had access to the room and if he was in someway sore about how she had been treating him during the filming of this movie he would have the motive. She pulled the privacy curtain back across to confront him if only for her own piece of mind but found he was no longer in the room with her and she was alone once more.

She left the curtain open as she brushed off the suspicious thought as merely the result of Argus inadvertently saying something similar to the notes she had been getting. She tried to tell herself that it was merely coincidence and so she returned to her reading but the reminder that there was someone in close proximity to her who had a more than healthy obsession towards her meant that her mind was not on it however and so she decided she would see Artimus Bowman now rather than later. As she put the script down she realized she had been putting off seeing him, perhaps afraid of the outcome.

She opened her locker located next to her bunk and took out a pair of denim trousers as well as a white t-shirt. She threw them down onto her bunk before closing the locker door. She jumped with a start as she saw that Lieutenant Michael Dayton, the movie's technical advisor, was now standing in the doorway having given no audible indication of his arrival.

"I-I'm sorry," he stuttered looking quite flushed as he stood there with his duty jacket wrapped tightly in a bundle around his left arm.

"It's ok," she laughed as her heart settled back down before she continued gathering her clothing together almost oblivious to him. Although she had been working with him ever since the start of the movie he didn't really register with her. He seemed almost invisible except whenever he was needed around the set. Although she knew it was a little cruel of her to think so she likened him to a piece of furniture; you only notice it when you need it and isn't there.

"Are you ok?" he asked her.

"Yes thank you," she replied barely making eye contact with him as she went about her business making him feel a little rejected but that seemed ok with him. He was used to her impassiveness towards him; in fact he had come to expect it. It was this neutral approach to him that meant she failed to notice him still standing in the hatchway staring intently at her as she looked at the clothes she had laid out and didn't seem happy with them for some reason that she was keeping to herself. She picked them back up and returned them to the locker before she reached for a short cut blue dress and looking in the mirror at how it might present her.

"Are you going out somewhere?" he asked with a nervousness that she had noticed he had around her like a lot of men who were intimidated by her fame. The difference this time was that she was so caught up with what she was doing that she failed to answer him and continued on regardless. "Are you going to see someone? Colonel Bowman perhaps?"

The mention of Bowman's name caught her attention and she stopped what she was doing with her eyes looking at him as if asking for confirmation that she had heard correctly. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant?"

"I said are you going to see Colonel Bowman before he leaves?"

"Uh, yes. I was hoping to," she replied caught off guard by the directness of his question, something she didn't expect from him.

"You want to look pretty for him?"

If she had never really noticed him before she noticed him at that point. It seemed such an unusual question and the way he asked it was, frankly, a little unnerving. There was coldness to his voice she had never heard before.

"I would like to look my best," she said choosing her words carefully.

"But you want to look pretty?" he asked insisting that she answer him directly.

"Yes," she uttered feeling increasingly uneasy discussing it with someone who was effectively a stranger to her. "Is everything alright, Lieutenant?"

"Do you want to look sexy for him?"

Neveah's mouth fell open in shock and disgust at him. It was like she was hearing an otherwise well behaved child swear at her.

"I beg your pardon!" she spat angrily.

"Do you want him to want to have sex with you?" he asked clearly and precisely.

Having never seen him like this before, Neveah felt herself becoming defensive but she concealed it as the actress that she was took over and presented an air of strength to try and dissuade him from making any further comments like that. She put herself in the mindset of an angry teacher reprimanding a disobedient child.

"Lieutenant, I'd like you to leave. You are making me uncomfortable," she demanded but Lieutenant Dayton didn't seem to care about what she wanted. The nervous disposition the young man once had was gone, replaced by a more focused individual who broke through Neveah's own pretence. "There's a guard outside," she threatened.

Lieutenant Dayton didn't seem worried. Instead he calmly removed the jacket wrapped around his arm to reveal that he had been concealing a military pistol. He held it up to show her without actually pointing it in her direction before he explained, "This is his gun."

* * *

**Colonel Bowman's Quarters**

_Now your photos don't have a picture frame  
And I never say your name and I never will  
And all your things, well I threw them in the trash  
And I'm not even sad_

As the words of the second song continued to fill the small quarters Artimus Bowman's mind absorbed every sound emanating from the speakers. He had lost interest in packing even though he knew that time was against him. As the words began to form new pictures in his mind he couldn't help but think of Neveah. The song reminded him of what she had said to him that morning about how she became someone else to satisfy other people. He then thought about how rude he was towards her. He replayed the whole conversation back in his mind but from a third party viewpoint and he didn't like how he presented himself. It was easy to say that he was grieving and that should excuse him but that wasn't enough for Artimus. As he saw the conversation unfold in retrospect he should have been more understanding than judgmental. That was one of the things his grandfather had taught him.

Artimus rubbed his hands down his face as if to wash away his sins thus giving him the opportunity for redemption. He turned off the song that was bringing him to this epiphany and stood up in preparation to go and make amends with her before he left. He checked the time and knew from Goldstein's itinerary that filming would have finished for the day. Therefore the logical place to look for her would be in her quarters that she shared with some of the others.

He stepped outside his hatch and began walking the corridors. As he went he thought about Nev's explanation for her behaviour in that video. It was an alien concept to him; pretending to be someone you're not. Artimus Bowman had spent much of his earlier life trying to find who he was and once he knew he swore to never let go of that person. As he thought about Neveah he came to the conclusion that he was lucky in that he had the confidence to be the person he was deep inside. Maybe Nev just didn't and that's why she became these 'other' people? He couldn't blame her for that.

* * *

**Senior Movie Crew/Cast Quarters **

Dayton had instructed Neveah to sit on her bunk and try to calm down, an impossible instruction. She sat shivering with him beside her still holding the gun looking almost as frightened as she was. Her eyes lay fixed ahead of her not even daring to turn them to look at him and yet in the corner of her left eye she could see the gun that he was holding in his right hand. It just hung lazily from his grasp, almost dangling between his knees. Dayton wasn't saying anything to her. They were just sitting there both of them terrified at what was ahead of them.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked him, her voice consumed with terror and fighting back the urge to cry.

"No!" he gasped. "Gods no! I don't want to hurt you Neveah. I want to help you. I know you've been having problems lately and I know why that is."

"Why then?" she asked after he had been silent for a few long seconds.

He paused again as he searched for the words. He desperately wanted her to understand why he was doing this. He looked at her head and seeing that she was refusing to look at him he reached over with his free hand and placed it on her quivering chin to guide her to the side. Her frightened and tear soaked eyes looked at him as he began to explain his actions to her.

"We all have a path in life that we must stick to. We all have a purpose. You have strayed from that path and that's not your fault, it's not. You've been corrupted by others. My purpose is to help you get back on it so that you can reach your full potential and feel whole again. Doesn't that sound nice?" She was too scared to answer him. "It's ok. I don't expect you to understand. Those that lose their way become blinded by the dark but don't worry, I will be your light and while you might not think it now one day you will thank me for this."

Neveah sucked in a mouthful of air to help push back the tears and allow her to speak. Finding courage she didn't know she had, she looked at him and quite calmly explained, "Lieutenant, I know what you're trying to do but this isn't the way. If-If you put the gun down I promise I will let you help me. What do you say?"

Her hopes were dashed as she watched a sly grin appear on his lips. "You always were a great actress -"

"Nev?" asked a voice from outside the hatch. Artimus Bowman's head appeared at the hatchway. "Where's the Mar -"

Lieutenant Dayton sprung to his feet and threw the barrel of the pistol towards Artimus, the gun shaking vigorously in his hand as he did so. Artimus didn't initially know how to respond. His hands went instinctively up into the air to submit to Dayton that he was unarmed.

"No!" shrieked Neveah fearing that she was about to witness Artimus being shot.

"Get inside!" ordered Dayton and Artimus complied. "Close the hatch!"

Once the hatch was closed and sealed Artimus turned around to face Dayton who was shaking so hard he had to physically concentrate on holding the gun in his hand pointed straight for the Colonel. Artimus looked at Neveah to assess her condition. She had slumped onto the floor during the sudden commotion and aside from a few silent tears streaming down her face there was nothing to indicate she had been harmed. He therefore turned his focus back to Dayton. Judging from his posture, Artimus began to realize that the biggest threat posed from Dayton was probably an accidental discharge of his weapon rather than deliberately shooting him. That was infinitely more worrying than someone who knew what they were doing.

"What's going on here, Lieutenant?" asked Artimus as calmly as he could while making sure his arms were up and clear for Dayton to see.

"I-I'm sorry Colonel," spluttered Dayton who was beginning to sway as his agitation grew.

"You're the one who sent that note to Nev? Did you kill Simtar as well?"

"I didn't mean for that to happen," explained Dayton looking nervously down the barrel of his gun. "H-He just made me so angry."

"Why?" asked Artimus. Dayton didn't answer at first but as Artimus' eyes looked down on Neveah to check on her he remembered the video on Simtar's media player. He then remembered his theory about Giannis and realized that while he had identified the motive for the assault he hadn't identified the attacker who he now knew was Dayton. "He showed you the video didn't he? I know you spent a lot of time down on the Hangar Deck. That's where we had our little chat, remember? You showed me the Cylon Raider they made up for this film."

"He made me angry," said Dayton. "I saw it in his eyes as he watched that video; the lust. I-It's evil. She's been corrupted and he was enjoying it. I only want to help Neveah."

"Of course you do, Lieutenant," said Artimus while trying not to sound patronizing. "But I want you to look at her a minute. Just do it for me would you? Take a look." Dayton carefully tore his eyes away from Artimus and glanced down at the frightened woman on the floor. "This doesn't seem to be helping her. You're hurting her. You don't want that do you?"

Dayton looked back at Artimus. "I know it's going to be hard for her but I am going to help her."

"Alright then," said Artimus more firmly realizing that reasoning with him was going to prove to be useless. Therefore he changed tactics and decided to concentrate on the fact that he was clearly out of his comfort zone. "What's your plan? You've got to have one or this is going nowhere and I think you're smart enough to realize that. Commander Adama on the Valkyrie told me once that it's always best to go with what you know. So what is it that you know, Lieutenant?"

Dayton was about to speak when suddenly the room filled with the sound of a klaxon wailing. Dayton was thrown into panic at the tone of the noise that was ringing in his ears and his alarmed eyes were whizzing around the room as if expecting something to happen.

"What the frak is that?" Dayton gasped.

"The ship's being called to security alert," explained Artimus. "No doubt someone has alerted the CIC to what's going on. They must have seen what was going on before I closed the hatch or they found the Marine that was supposed to be outside. Is he alive?"

"I-I think so. Yes!" blurted Dayton as the klaxon stopped.

"Alright, Lieutenant. Let's talk seriously for a moment. That alarm means that right now Marines are grabbing guns and lining the corridors outside. If you're lucky you'll get two maybe three feet outside before they put you down. Why don't you do the right thing and give up?"

"They won't shoot if I have you as a hostage," he stated in a way that implied he wanted Artimus to confirm his theory.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"What do you mean?" asked Dayton who was horrified at the thought that taking hostages may not be any protection.

"Well if you spent a little less time reading scripture and a little more time being a soldier you'd realize that one of the less endearing aspects of soldiering is that you're expendable. It's the mission that counts and right now their mission is to stop a hostage taker. That's you by the way."

"That maybe true for you, sir, but I've still got Neveah. They'll do what I ask if I have her with me."

"Well," mumbled Artimus as he quickly pondered how he could flip this one on its head in an effort to try and convince Dayton to give up. "By now I'm sure they've figured out that you're the one behind all this and that you want to protect Neveah so I don't think that's much of a gamble."

There was suddenly a knocking on the opposite side of the hatch and a voice called out, "Colonel Bowman, this is Sergeant Morgan. Are you ok in there, sir?"

"I'm fine!" yelled Artimus. "So are Miss Ratliff and Lieutenant Dayton."

Dayton was so agitated and scared that he hadn't picked up on the fact that Bowman had just taken the opportunity to reveal to the Marines that there were three of them inside. In situations such as this even the most minute of details is vital.

"That's good," replied Morgan. "I have a wireless handset out here that Commander Hawker would like to use to speak to Lieutenant Dayton."

Artimus looked at Dayton and the frightened hostage taker motioned for him to open the hatch and take the handset. As Artimus turned and began to rotate the handle Dayton realized that this could be a ploy to storm the room and so he reached for Neveah and helped her onto her feet before positioning himself behind her.

"Don't worry," he whispered to her. "I could never hurt you. I just need to make sure that they don't try anything. I hope you can forgive me."

Having turned the wheel through its full rotation Artimus pulled on the hatch and opened it just a few inches. Through the gap he could see Morgan and several Marines behind him all in defensive positions along the corridor. Morgan reached out with the wireless to give to Artimus. As he took it off the Sergeant, Morgan looked at him silently asking whether they should rush in or not. Given the heightened state Dayton was in Artimus reasoned that would be an unwise course of action and discretely shook his head before coming back inside and closing the hatch.

Dayton released Neveah and walked over to Artimus who handed him the portable wireless transmitter. Almost immediately a voice could be heard crackling in the ear piece at the top of the small telephone-like device.

"That'll be Hawker," said Artimus. "Why don't you speak with him? He holds all the cards in this game. I'm just going to go and check on Nev. Ok?"

Dayton nodded sharply and nervously before lifting the wireless up to the side of his head and pushing the transmit button to speak leaving Artimus to check on Neveah. With Dayton busily talking to Hawker behind them Artimus asked her, "Are you ok?" She immediately began sobbing as her barriers began to break apart. At first he put his hands on her shoulders and when he saw this did little he pulled her closer to him and she threw her arms around his waist before crying into his right shoulder. "It's going to be alright," he whispered to her. "We're going to get through this." His words seemed to do little to help. "Y'know, I came down here to apologize to you for the way I behaved earlier."

"Really?" she asked finding it mildly amusing that she had wanted to reconcile things with him so badly earlier but hadn't expected it to happen under these circumstances.

"Yea," he said before whispering, "Now just listen to me for a second. Keep yourself as calm as you can. It's ok to cry just try not to make too much of it. If you're upset he might get upset even more and that would be a bad thing. Don't do anything rash but above all if I tell you to run or hide or anything like that just do it! Don't look back or ask questions just go. Do you understand?" She nodded, worried about what he could mean exactly. She knew then that he was prepared to risk his life to save hers. It was flattering and terrifying at the same time. It was at that point that they heard the demands Dayton was making.

"I want a Raptor prepped and ready to fly down on the Hangar Deck. Colonel Bowman can fly it. I want a clear route from here to the Hangar Deck and if I see one Marine on the way I-I-I'll kill Bowman. Do you understand me...Good!"

Dayton put down the wireless handset and turned back to face his hostages who were still embracing. Artimus immediately realized that this act might be interpreted as sexual by Dayton and so he released her despite her initial resistance before asking him, "Where are we going?"

"Gemenon," replied Dayton.

"Why? What's there?"

"It's the holy land," he explained somewhat vaguely before turning to Neveah. "It's the only place in the twelve worlds where you can become one with the Gods."

**

* * *

**

Hawker had remained true to his word and when a few minutes later the three of them left the bunkroom there wasn't a single person to be seen anywhere throughout the adjacent corridor. Dayton had instructed Artimus to take the lead as he marched his hostages out mainly because Dayton's knowledge of the Cerberus' was limited and Artimus could make sure they went directly to the Hangar Deck. As they marched through the empty corridors Artimus tried to picture how Hawker was going to play this one. If he was in Hawker's place he would have the Marines try and take out Dayton as they walked out onto the open Hangar Deck. There were plenty of places for a sniper to establish a concealed position and get a clear shot as opposed to the narrower corridors that lead there. Any fire fight in here would be foolish and probably result in either him or Neveah getting hit as well.

As they walked out onto the empty Hangar Deck Artimus prepared himself for the whizzing sound of a bullet that would cut through the air and kill Dayton. Part of him was sympathetic towards the indoctrinated young man but the fact of the matter was he had taken hostages to achieve his goal and that is something that cannot be tolerated. To do so would only invite further hostage taking.

As they neared the Raptor that had been prepared for them Artimus discretely looked around for any sign of a sniper but there was none. As they reached the Raptor that sat on the decklift ready to be hoisted up to the Landing Deck Artimus begun to realize that Hawker had elected to allow them to leave and he began to wonder if Hawker's decision not to act now would cost him his life. The thought of his death only made him think of Brooke and how that would affect her. In all likelihood it would destroy her and as he closed the hatch for the Raptor once they were inside he made a promise to himself to do everything possible to stay alive for her sake.

Artimus took the pilot's seat while Dayton sat next to Neveah on the fold down passenger bench just behind him. While Neveah had managed to calm herself down considerably she was still terrified of Dayton who was doing his best to try and help her relax without realizing he was actually making her worse.

"There's a place on Gemenon," he whispered to her softly. "It's called Aphrodite Falls. In the spring time it is so beautiful. They say the water there is the most cleansing on the whole planet. One day I'll take you there and we can go swimming in the lake at the bottom. I know you're going to love it once you accept the Gods into your heart. Do you understand at all what I am trying to do?"

"I understand what you want but not how you are going about it," she uttered.

"I know," he said lowering his head. "I'm sorry. The Gods will judge me and maybe once you're back on the path of righteousness they will reward me."

She looked at him through her tear strained eyes and added threateningly, "For your sake I hope so."

* * *

**Author's Note**

**The two songs that Artimus listens to are;**

**1) "Cry, Cry, Cry" by Johnny Cash.**

**2) "Undo It" by Carrie Underwood**

**The second song was recommended by Gen Imlay who felt the lyrics were approriate to Neveah's life. Since a lot of songs and themes are passed through the ages of man within the BSG universe I felt it would be acceptable to include them. **

**Thanks to everyone who is reading Cerberus. I hope you have enjoyed the story so far and continue to do so.**

**- Tony Wilkins  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Battlestar Cerberus  
Combat Information Centre**

The CIC was positively buzzing with activity. They had a hostage situation on their hands. It wasn't their first for they had been through several hostage taking scenarios previously but this was different to all of them. This one involved one of their own crew and it happened aboard their own ship.

"Sir!" called out Teuton to Hawker who stood leaning over the Operations Desk in the middle of the brain of the Battlestar, his fist clenched in frustration. Hawker looked up at Teuton who manned the communication's panel and acknowledged to him to speak. "Deck Chief reports that the Raptor has been moved upto the Landing Deck."

"Put me through to them," he instructed his subordinate as he silently prayed that this one last effort to end this here and now would work.

"You're on, sir."

"This is Cerberus-Actual requesting to speak to Lieutenant Dayton, please acknowledge!"

* * *

**Hostage Raptor**

"Hawker wants to speak with you Lieutenant," said Artimus sat in the pilot's seat and the only one who could hear Hawker's voice having an earpiece and microphone hooked around his right ear.

The little ship was now sitting in the immense chasm that was the Cerberus' Starboard Landing Deck. Here in the vacuum of space was one of the few places aboard a Battlestar where you can truly appreciate the size of one of these vessels.

Artimus turned around and looked back into the main cabin. Neveah still sat leaning forwards with a look of true fear pasted on her face. Dayton had his arm around her in what Artimus interpreted as a grotesque display of affection. Strands of her dark hair was now sticking to her tear soaked face and between them her eyes looked up at Artimus pleading for his help as she was forced to listen to Dayton stuttering on about what was waiting for them on Gemenon all the while the gun he had acquired from the Marine guard sat dangling in his right hand.

"Lieutenant!" continued Artimus trying to get Dayton's attention away from Neveah. This time it worked. Dayton looked up at Artimus, Neveah only daring to glance toward the front of the cockpit. "Commander Hawker wants to speak to you."

"What does he want?" asked Dayton in an almost childlike fashion. Artimus found this an odd question. Anyone in their right mind would know what Hawker must have wanted but it was then that he realized that Dayton wasn't in his right mind. This was not a logical choice the Lieutenant was making but one built on some deluded idea about right and wrong. That was infinitely more dangerous.

"He probably wants to try and resolve this somehow," said Artimus as calmly and as professionally as he could muster. His tone tried to reflect that of a protective big brother in the hope that in order to escape the chaos of the events he found himself in Dayton would then cooperate.

"J-Just take off!" demanded Dayton who suddenly pointed the pistol at Artimus over Neveah's head causing her to let out a sudden shriek.

Artimus turned back to face the control panel as Hawker's voice crackled in his right ear once more repeating his request to speak to Lieutenant Dayton. Realizing that Dayton wasn't looking at him, Artimus discretely pressed the transmit button on the throttle handle and quietly blew twice into the microphone hoping that Hawker would understand what he was trying to do.

There was a short pause before Hawker's voice crackled once more into the headset. "Colonel, is that you?"

Artimus quietly blew twice into the microphone indicating 'yes'.

"Can Dayton hear you?"

Artimus blew once indicating 'no'.

"Why haven't we taken off?" demanded Dayton.

"We're going," said Artimus to Dayton who hadn't noticed that he had kept his finger on the transmit button so that Hawker could hear him too.

Hawker's voice cut in. "Colonel; what's your destination?"

Artimus very carefully hit transmit once more to allow Hawker to hear before turning back to Dayton and asking, "You're going to need to tell me where on Gemenon we're going, Lieutenant."

"Just take us to G-Gemenon!" replied the frightened hostage-taker.

* * *

**Battlestar Cerberus  
Combat Information Centre**

Armed with this information Hawker turned to Teuton and yelled, "Get on to the Gemonese Traffic Control Coordination Centre. Give them the Raptor's transponder codes and have our assets in the area keep a watch for it when it jumps in!"

"Yes sir!" replied Teuton who immediately began setting up a link to the intercolonial communications network.

Hawker then picked up the handset once more and held it to his face to speak to Artimus aboard the Raptor. "Colonel; we're contacting our assets at Gemenon. The moment you jump in you're going to be tracked. Just sit tight and cooperate."

* * *

**Hostage Raptor**

_That's easy for him to say_ thought Artimus.

Knowing anymore delay would only further antagonize Dayton, Artimus applied power to the ventral thrusters and the little ship lifted itself up off the magnetized deck before he applied forward throttle and the Raptor surged ahead and out of the Flight Pod.

Once free of the Battlestar Artimus switched on his navigational DRADIS. There was the bulk that was Cerberus displayed on the three-dimensional screen and high above it were four smaller objects. These were the CAP Vipers that were holding off from view. Nobody wanted Dayton to think that anyone was taking action against him until they were ready. Now that the Raptor was clear of Cerberus it was safe for Artimus to began plotting a jump to Gemenon.

"Gemenon is a big place, Lieutenant," he said to Dayton in the main cabin. "You want to give me some idea as to where we're going?"

"Sir," stammered Dayton still clutching Neveah and the gun. "Please, just take us to Gemenon. I will guide you from there."

"You're the one with the gun," said Artimus accessing the main navigational computer to plot a jump to the colony of Gemenon. With the coordinates calculated and laid in he began to spool up the FTL drive. The interior of the cabin hummed as tyllium fuel filled the drum which was charged by the spool to turn it into enough energy to tear a hole in space.

Dayton looked at his hostage under his left arm. Her eyes were stinging red from having been soaked with tears. Even he in his confused and deranged state of mind couldn't help but feel sorry for her but he had convinced himself he was doing this for the greater good, the saving of her soul, and that one day she would thank him for it.

"Jumping in five…" started Artimus. "Four…Three…Two…One."

Artimus, Dayton and Neveah all blinked instinctively as the cabin was engulfed by a brilliant white light. Their ears filled with a high pitched whine as the FTL drive reached full power and transported them across space. As soon as it had started it was over.

Dayton looked forwards to where Artimus was sat in the pilot's seat. Where once there was empty space through the window of the cockpit there now sat a large planet whose surface appeared orange-brown in colour.

"Gemenon," uttered Dayton excitedly as he rose to his feet to get a better view of the planet. "It's like walking up the steps to Olympus itself. Don't you feel it?" He turned back to look at Neveah. Artimus did so as well. As he looked at her frightened face he knew she felt anything but humble.

"Alright," said Artimus. "Now what?"

"We need to go to the Orpheus Plateau," said Dayton. "It's on the west continent."

"What's there exactly?" asked Artimus.

"A house of the Gods," he explained rather cryptically.

Artimus did as he was instructed and guided the Raptor towards the western continent where the Orpheus Plateau was located. As the little spacecraft made its journey through the planet's upper ionosphere Artimus took a moment to assess his situation and his options.

He was thankful that Dayton was clearly a poor soldier because if he wasn't then he would know that the moment they jumped into Gemenon's DRADIS range without prior authorization it would have sent shockwaves through the planet's early warning system. Just how the local forces would respond he couldn't be sure. If they chose to intercept the Raptor and try to force it down they could end up getting shot at and that would be the end of them. Unable to access the main DRADIS array of the Raptor from the front seat, Artimus only had the short range navigational DRADIS to work with. Traffic in the area was light with only a few ships nearby all of which were civilian.

As the friction from the planet's atmosphere cast a red sheet over the Raptor as it began its descent Artimus began to realize that a rescue effort must either be underway or is in the planning stages due to one very important factor; even though they had appeared on numerous DRADIS arrays and were entering the atmosphere without authorization no one was making an effort to contact them to find out what was going on. This meant that the Colonial Fleet knew the situation and weren't going to interfere until they were ready for fear of harming the hostages of which he was one.

Soon the heat around the Raptor subsided and the little ship was now cruising through a rust colored sky. It was dusk on this part of the colony and the sun was slowly setting in the west. They were now just ten minutes from the Plateau which sat like a huge table on the Gemonese desert. Unknown to anyone aboard the hijacked there were a pair of contrails emanating from two high altitude craft flying parallel to their own course and were being guided by ground based DRADIS. They were a pair of Raptors each of which had hulls painted dark grey for they were part of the dedicated Colonial Fleet Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) Force.

"We're going to arrive at the plateau shortly," said Artimus. "Now what?"

Leaving Neveah in the main cabin Dayton walked forwards to join Artimus in the cockpit. "Scan the northern side of the plateau and you should find a small structure perched near the edge."

Artimus did as he was instructed and located the structure Dayton was referring to on the edge of the eight mile wide plateau the roof of which sat approximately eight hundred feet above the desert floor. It was barely a building anymore. It was a ruin with no discernable roof structure except for pillars that had somehow survived to give an idea of what it might have looked like before its destruction.

"What is it?" asked Artimus.

"It's an old temple. My family used to worship there before they left Gemenon," explained Dayton with a tone that indicated that the story of his family's emigration was not a happy one.

"What happened to it?" asked Artimus almost accidentally.

"It was burned down by monotheist rebels. Take us down!" Dayton held his gun to Artimus' head indicating that he would not take 'no' for an answer. Artimus threw the Raptor into a gentle descent before bringing it in to hover about a hundred feet from the ground at the top of the plateau. Reducing power to the vertical thrusters the Raptor slowly touched down in a textbook perfect landing made all the more impressive by the circumstances. The Raptor fell silent as its engines powered down.

Dayton was now like an excited child who had just looked out of the car window at a theme park. It was hard for Artimus to see what was so exciting. The ruined building resembled any number of temples all across the twelve worlds. When the roof was intact it must have stood at least two stories high in his estimation, a typical approach architects took when designing these places. There was only one floor but the immense size always made the worshippers feel small and helped reinforce the idea that their religion was greater than themselves. Rounded pillars supported the upper half of the building and all had now been stained black by the long dead fire that had destroyed this place of worship. The graffiti pasted on the stone by the culprits was still clear and held slogans such as 'false Gods' and 'you will be punished' as well as the grizzly sounding 'behead all non-believers of the one true God'.

Dayton rushed back to the main cabin and opened the hatch which hissed as it rose upwards. Before the hatch could even reach its maximum height Dayton was already hanging outside the opening to feel the Gemonese breeze on his face and marvel at the building in front of him without being separated by the Raptor's window.

Having filled his lungs with Gemonese air he rushed back inside and excitedly dragged Neveah to her feet expecting her to be just as elated as he was. He was about to go rushing out with her when he realized he was forgetting about Artimus. He stopped with Neveah at the hatchway and looked back at the Colonel who was now standing wondering what Dayton would do next.

"Colonel Bowman," said Dayton. "You're free to go. I won't need you from here on. Once we're outside you can take off."

Neveah shot a glance at Artimus with eyes that pleaded with him for help but he was powerless to do anything. Dayton looked as though he was expecting a 'thank you' from Artimus but of course he was going to be disappointed. Artimus looked back at Neveah and saw she was desperately trying to fight off the desire to cry bitterly. She was terrified of what Dayton might do. If he was honest Artimus too was scared of what might happen if he left her alone with him and so he was left with only one choice.

"I can't do that, Lieutenant," declared Artimus.

Dayton looked dumbfounded. His mouth was slightly ajar through a mix of both confusion and fear, fear because even though he was holding the gun and technically in control of the events he found himself in here was Colonel Artimus Bowman, the hostage, dictating to him what he will and will not do.

"You can go," repeated Dayton hoping that his persistence would convince Artimus to reconsider but that wasn't the type of man he was.

"I can't," he said. "You see I'm involved in all this and as an officer in the Colonial Fleet I can't abandon a civilian in mortal danger. That's what a _good_ soldier would do."

Now bordering on terror Dayton reacted the only way he could think of by raising the gun and pointing it at Artimus once more. Neveah shut her eyes as the gun, trembling in Dayton's hand, passed her face. She expected to hear the sound of Dayton shooting Artimus and that was one thing she didn't want to see. She screwed her eyes up so hard in an effort to blank out what was happening that they caused her eyeballs to seemingly throb with pain.

"Are you going to shoot me?" asked Artimus who was himself terrified but was managing to keep it under control better than either Dayton or Neveah could ever hope to.

"I have to do this," said Dayton.

"No you don't," said Artimus gently. "Give me the gun and end it here. I promise you, no I swear it as an officer, I will do everything in my power to make sure you get treated fairly and you get the help you need." Mustering what courage he could, Artimus stepped forwards. "All you have to do is hand over that gun and let me call the Fleet then this will be all over." Artimus took another step closer. "Come on, what do you say?"

The gun in Dayton's hand went off. Neveah screamed as she shook violently from fear. Although she didn't want to she found herself opening her eyes looking to see if Artimus was still alive. Expecting to find her friend on the floor bleeding profusely she was instead surprised to find him perfectly fine. There was however a hole in the back of the right hand side pilot's seat.

Artimus knew he had been foolish. He had forced Dayton's hand in what was a massive gamble, one that hadn't paid off, and now he was sure that if pushed again Dayton would probably kill him.

"If you won't leave, Colonel," said Dayton shaking almost as hard as Neveah. "Alright then, but don't interfere or I will kill you."

"I understand," said Artimus. "I won't interfere."

Neveah was in part relieved that Artimus wasn't leaving. It was a small comfort but it was something to know he would be there for whatever it was Dayton had in mind.

"Alright then," said Dayton motioning for Neveah to step outside with him before Artimus followed. Neveah tried to move her feet but they refused to go. "Neveah come on!" She shrieked loudly as he tried to force her to move but the more he did so the more she cried out. Fear had frozen her legs in place and it was getting more and more difficult to even attempt to move them the more Dayton tried to encourage her. It was like they had turned to stone.

"Nev," said Artimus softly which brought a sudden halt to Dayton's efforts. "Nev, Nev, look at me!" She didn't respond. "Look at me!" She lifted her head up and peered at Artimus through the most frightened eyes he had ever seen. "It's ok. We are going to get through this. You're safe. No one wants to hurt _you_."

"I'm scared," she mumbled.

"Me too," said Artimus. "In fact I think they're going to have to clean that seat I been sitting in." Hearing such a vulgar joke from the clean cut Artimus seemed to distract her if only momentarily. She didn't laugh but it did break the cycle of fear long enough for her to regain control of her facets. He reached out with his hand for her to take it. She rather nervously accepted it and as his firm hand became clasped around hers she slowly regained control of her legs.

Guided by Artimus they stepped out of the Raptor, Dayton holding the gun firmly showing no sign that he was willing to give up just yet. Walking slowly towards the ruined temple Dayton and his two hostages were blissfully unaware that high above them the two CSAR Raptors were monitoring them from a stand-off range.

The air was cold inside the ruined building, perhaps more so than outside it thanks to the venting effect the walls of the building produced channeling the prevailing winds through the gaps in the brickwork and of course the now absent roof.

Just as it was outside the temple was destroyed inside. The fire that had devastated this place of worship so long ago had proved just as thorough inside as out. On the far end of the building there sat what appeared to be an alter that sat on a raised platform. The sight of it sent jolts of excitement through Dayton's body.

"This is it," he said as he rushed passed his two hostages to examine it more closely. Along the wall surrounding the alter were carvings of the individual Lords of Kobol in the centre of which was the largest portraying Zeus himself. The carvings had not been spared by the fire and they had lost some of their detail by a combination of the heat and years of exposure to the elements. "This is where I had my cleansing ceremony when I was a child."

"Cleansing ceremony?" uttered Artimus still holding Neveah close to him.

Dayton didn't hear him instead he continued, "This was our family's ancestral temple. It didn't matter that it had been burned down. I needed to prove myself to my Gods. I was only twelve but they spared me."

"What do you mean spared you?" asked Artimus this time more loudly so Dayton couldn't ignore it.

Dayton didn't answer. Instead he walked slowly up to Neveah who tried to retreat further back under Artimus' left arm until she could go no further. All Neveah could look at was the gun in his right hand. She had become transfixed by it and by the fact that he possessed the capability to end her life with just the flick of his finger.

He reached over with his left hand lifted up her chin forcing her to pull her eyes away from his stolen weapon. It seemed as though he had to drag her eyes to get her to look at him.

"Are you ready for me to make you clean?" he asked her gently. "I know it's what you want. I know how you feel about yourself sometimes. You feel dirty. You're tarnished by the mistakes you had made. I know because I was the same when I was brought here to be cleansed. I needed it then too. You see…my uncle did things to me when I was young. He made me unclean in the eyes of the Gods and that's why my parents brought me here so I could be put right again. Now I want to do the same for you. This…this is a gift. Will you accept it?"

Dayton reached for her and placed his hand on her shoulder leading her slowly away from Artimus who felt totally helpless. He began to ponder the possibility of rushing their hostage taker and trying to wrestle the gun away from him. If it were just him he probably would have tried but the fact that Neveah was here meant he wasn't going to risk her accidentally getting shot.

She was now clear of Artimus and Dayton now wrapped his arm around her waist to make sure she went where he wanted her to go. She was resistant at first but gradually she began to cooperate until the two of them were soon walking up towards the alter. Once there he told her to lie down upon it.

Artimus watched unsure as to what this 'cleansing' ceremony involved. As carefully as he could he inched forwards to get a better look at where he was telling Neveah to lie down upon. Raising his neck to full height Artimus saw that she was being laid down on what appeared to him like a long thin rainwater gutter in the middle of which was a large hole. When she was laid down on top of it only the hole was left and was now just large enough for someone to put their hand inside.

The old temple suddenly filled with the sound of Neveah's whimpering voice. "W-What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to make you clean," he said as Artimus watched him finally put the gun down on the floor. His body surged with adrenalin as he began to ponder any move he could take to get that gun while Dayton was distracted by the ceremony. Unfortunately it was a good thirty feet away from him while Dayton was in arm's length of it. "Your blood." Artimus' focus on the weapon was suddenly cut off by his hearing of the word 'blood' spoken by Dayton. He watched as he explained further. "Your blood needs to be emptied of the poison that consumes it. When enough blood leaves your body to fill the void in this holy place you will be clean and if the Gods spare you then you can begin again embellished in their love. Doesn't that sound wonderful? I don't have a ceremonial dagger so I guess this will have to do."

Dayton picked up a jagged piece of what appeared to be a slate tile from off the ashen floor. It was clear now that he intended to stab Neveah. Artimus knew he no longer had any choice in the matter. He was going to have to make his move now! Suddenly a voice appeared in his head and it whispered _Do it now, son!_

Artimus leapt forwards using all the energy his body could muster. His veins felt as though they were surging with blood as he put every last ounce of strength he had into throwing himself onto Dayton. He seemed to fly over Neveah on the ground and collided with Dayton on the opposite side of her, the two of them rolling backwards as a result of the sheer force of the impact.

Artimus continued to roll until he landed on his back. He had caught hold of Dayton by his wrists and he refused to release his hold on him for Dayton still had the broken piece of slate in his hand the point of which was as sharp as any ceremonial dagger. Dayton tried desperately to push down on his makeshift weapon and stab the Colonel but Artimus Bowman's arms, used to boxing with the best in the Colonial Fleet for up to fifteen rounds, was holding his own against him. The slate tile remained suspended just inches from Artimus' face.

"Get off him!" shrieked a voice.

Artimus could see Neveah in the corner of his right bloodlust-filled eye on her knees facing them with Dayton's gun in her hand pointing it squarely at the man on top of him trying to kill him. In the heat of the moment he silently prayed for her to shoot.

At that moment a shot did indeed ring out inside the ruined temple.

Artimus watched as the left side of Dayton's head seemed to spew open with flesh and bone. The force that was bearing down on him quickly subsided and Artimus found himself throwing Dayton's limp body across the floor and away from him. Artimus scrambled up from the floor just as the gun in Neveah's hand fell from her fingers. It was at that moment he saw the black battle dress of the nine Marines who were now swarming the temple with their rifles drawn. Through the broken roof a CSAR Raptor could be seen swooping down with its doors open and a SECOND Marine strike team preparing to disembark once it had landed.

"Colonel!" called out the Captain in command of the rescue team. "Colonel Bowman! Do you require medical attention, sir?"

Artimus didn't respond right away, instead rushing to Neveah who took hold of him so hard it was as if she were afraid to ever let go.

"I couldn't do it," she mumbled in his ear as she buried her face into his shoulder. It was then he realized that she hadn't been the one who shot Dayton but rather it was the Marine rescue team.

"I can live with that," he said to her. "I hope you never have to be put into a situation like that again."

A Marine medic appeared beside them and began to peel her away from him in order to inspect the two of them. Artimus insisted he was fine being just a little shaken up and effectively ordered the medic to concentrate on Neveah. He took this moment to turn around and look at the dead body whose blood was now filling the floor of the alter.

Artimus knew he should be angry but the truth was as he looked at the young man spread-eagled on the ground he felt an overwhelming wave of sympathy. He was after all as much a victim as anyone.

Dayton's eyes remained open, his death being so quick that the signal to close them was never sent by his destroyed brain. Dayton just lay there staring blankly. Artimus knelt down and reached out with his trembling hand to close Dayton's eyes for him. Again he thought to himself that he should be filled with fury and perhaps even celebrate this man's death but the question that rang in his mind was whether Dayton was really to blame? This was a man who was once an abused child and who had his views of the universe corrupted by extreme religious rhetoric. Was he really in control of his assets when he did this? After all in his own mind he was doing the right thing.

Artimus didn't know the answer and instead of trying to figure it out he simply whispered to him, "I hope you get to meet your Gods, Lieutenant."


	8. Epilogue

**Battlestar Cerberus  
****Sickbay  
****Seven Hours Later**

Neveah let her head find the most comfortable spot on the pillow by itself. Almost subconsciously it rolled around feeling for that one point where she could settle and sleep but after two hours she was still unsettled. The sickbay in Cerberus reminded her of an old hospital where the new equipment that had been brought in over the years didn't quite match the surroundings. The surrounding was not unwelcoming as such but nevertheless she felt like a stranger here. A nurse came by every twenty minutes or so but only to check on her. Although she closed her eyes she knew she would not be able to sleep.

"Everything ok?" asked a familiar voice.

She opened her eyes to find Artimus at the bottom of her bed looking down at her. He stood wearing a plain white t-shirt and dark denim trousers. In this guise he was no longer a Colonial Officer to her and nor was she just an actress to him. He was a man and she was a women. There was no pretence between either of them.

"Yes," she said softly with a smile. "The doctor wants to keep me in for observation. He wants to make sure I'm not suffering from shock."

"I think he wanted to do the same with me," he said.

"How did you get out of it?"

Artimus folded his arms as he allowed himself a short smirk of amusement. "I have a friend who in turn also has a friend who lives on Canceron that can get me a certain alcoholic beverage that the doctor has a taste for. I threatened to cut off his supply."

"Is that true?" she asked chuckling.

"Let's just leave that as one of those things to think about." Artimus unfolded his arms and walked up towards her until he was standing beside where her head was resting on the pillow. The atmosphere felt tense between them. The air felt so thick that it wasas if it was too thick for them to talk but finally Artimus was able to get the words out of his mouth, "I came to apologise before I left. For the way I spoke to you before I mean."

"It's not necessary," she replied.

"No it is. I was angry about my grandfather's death and I guess you just became a target. It was unfair and you didn't deserve it. I have no right to judge you."

"That hasn't stopped a lot of other people from judging me," she explained maintaining a somewhat forced smile regarding the subject.

"Still...I didn't want to leave things the way they were."

"Apology accepted," she said reaching out for his left hand taking hold of it. His fingers felt rough compared to her quite well groomed skin. Artimus felt strangely comforted by her touch. He knew she was reassuring him that she accepted his apology. "When are you going back to Caprica?"

"As soon as I leave here," said Artimus. "I missed the flight Hawker had booked for me so he's got a Raptor ready to take me directly there. I think he wants me off this ship before anything else happens. Truth is I'm dreading it. It seems I've been trying to distract myself as much as I could from having to accept that he is really gone. I just don't think I can face that."

"You're not on your own," said Neveah. "You have your wife, you have your friends to take care of you."

"I think I am afraid of that the most."

"Why?"

Artimus paused for a moment to think. "I guess I just don't like the idea of needing other people."

"We all need someone," she said matter-of-factly.

"I guess so," he murmured.

"Think of it this way," she said to him suddenly having a moment of inspiration. "You were a Raptor pilot, right?"

"Well I still technically have my wings," he corrected under the influence of his Raptor pilot pride.

"Well a Raptor can't just fly with a pilot. It needs a groundcrew to keep it going. Your family is kind of like your groundcrew. You need them just like they need you. If you come back from a flight with a problem then its your groundcrew that will sort it out for you just like your family will when you get home."

"You have an excellent way of putting things in terms I understand, thank you," he said to her.

"You're welcome, Artimus."

"So what are you going to do now?" he asked referring to the rest of the movie she was supposed to be making.

"Goldstein wants to make a big thing out of this. You know the crazed-fan-who-took-me-hostage-thing doesn't happen on every film I do. It's a lot of publicity. That's priceless as far as he is concerned. We're already on the news."

"I saw," said Artimus. "I caught it just before I came to see you. You're mentioned by name but I'm just mentioned as _Neveah Ratliff and a Colonial Officer_. Guess I'm just an extra in your movie."

"No, Artimus, you're not. You're the star. Now all that's left for you to do is to kiss the girl and fly off into the sunset," she uttered softly whilst silently wishing that he could stay with her.

With her still holding his left hand he planted the palm of his right hand on top of her head gently caressing her dark hair before he leaned down over her placing a soft kiss on her forehead. Although it lasted only a moment it conveyed a world of compassion and respect. It was not a romantic kiss but a gesture between two friends who had stumbled upon each other during their own journeys through life. They both knew that they would be taking something from their time together with them along the rest of their individual journeys and it was for that reason that they didn't need to utter the words 'Good bye'.

**The End**

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Thank you to everyone who has read this story. I sincerely hope you have enjoyed it even though it's not a typical BSG story. It started out as an idea I toyed with in work one night and it gradually grew from there. I have enjoyed writing the story and I find that out of all my work this was the one I come to read again and again.**

**As some of you who have followed mine and Wes Imlay's work know both our storylines are intertwined in what is known on Galacticafanonwikia as the D5 universe. Artimus' story from this point continues in Wes' story "Devil You Know" which I had creative input in to make sure both stories were consistent with one another****.**

**Thank you again for reading.**

**- Tony Wilkins **


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